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ESSAY

Disoriented you try to run away. You’re lost in the tumult and the singeing aftermath. Orange tongues of flame and hatred chase the clouds of dark billowing smoke away, the same ones that are chocking you. Screaming. Screaming is the only thing you hear. This is terrorism. There is no universal definition of terrorism, but a rough definition is the use of violence against civilians to gain something politically. It uses violence as coercin and attacks a nation on physical, pychological, and emotional levels. It is used against innocent people to send a message- you are under attack, and you can be struck anywhere, at any moment. Terrorisim is becoming an all to common phrase and is becoming more and more part of daily life. There are many causes, nationalism, religion, politics and of course hatred. The affects are even larger. In just the tragedy of 9/11 3,000 people were killed. in 2008 230 people were found dead and more than 300 were injured. How can something like this be done? Why? How can it be stopped? Where and when did this start? The most you can do to help yourself in facing this new era of terror is to be informed. Terrorism is changing everything, and all you can do is sit by and watch. Though it's considered a recent hot-topic, terrorism is not a new concept. We can see the word "terrorism" being used back in the 18th century while French revolutionists were killing thousands of innocent French people. The French Revolution was a time of intense social and political upheaval due to the terrible economy, massive resent towards the King, and the spread of famine and disease throughout France. People became violent, and revolutionists would break out into riots at every street corner. So, the French government decided to attempt to control the crowds of people by using violence (such as mass public executions using the guillotine) as a threat to sway their opinions in favor of his decisions. Approximately 40,000 people were executed in this fashion, including king Louis XVI himself. Thus, the French Revolution was entitled the first act of political terrorism. Since the 18th century, the styles of terrorism have been warped and multiplied. Now, Instead of just executions of the guillotine, we begin to see people sacrificing their own life to state their opinion- suicide attacks. From the kamikaze aviators of World War II, to suicide bombers that run into American troops in Iraq, these twisted people theorize that there is no better way to express your passion than take matters into your own hands- and make sure to take as many down with you along the way. These suicide attacks were revolutionary in their own right. Before the Kamikaze aviators began flying into their inevitable death, nothing of the sort had ever been seen used in war. Many people viewed it as fighting fire with fire, and were shocked that a person would willingly take their own life in order to get their point across. Alas, of any other purpose of terrorism, one of the most obvious reasons to terrorize a group of people is to make a statement and make it powerful enough to scare them onto your side.