After the attacks of 11 September 2001, people in the world have acquired a new and very drastic morbid fear, a fear of a terrorist attack. According to Greenberg and Babcock-Dunning, “five CNN and Opinion Research Corporation polls between 2006 and 2010 reported that 4% to 5% of Americans thought it “very likely” that there would be an act of terrorism in their community in the near future” (652). Similar data from the other parts of the world shows that the problem of terrorism is one of the most critical problems nowadays that require a solution in order to bring relief to millions of people. Of course, there exists no magic wand that would help obliterate terrorism instantly, but the world governments are able to develop a well-elaborated plan of action aiming to minimize the threat of this problem in the world. Important features of this plan should be solidarity in actions and mutual cooperation. As terrorism is a global problem, it can be overcome only as a result of united actions. In addition, terrorism is also a problem that is spread on the level of human awareness, and thus, it should be addressed from the angle of affecting people’s minds and hearts as well.
Nowadays, terrorists have managed to paralyze with fear people inhabiting the most remote and peaceful lands. The example from Norway stroke people’s minds and hearts in 2011. On July 22, 2011, Anders Breivik killed 77 people as a result of a bomb attack and open shooting in Oslo (Ranstorp 615). Civilians were simply shocked by the event that took place that day as Norway had a reputation as one of the most peaceful countries in the world (Fischer 604).
Terrorist actions such as the above-mentioned one show that terrorism is a phenomenon of a great scale, in which both individuals and world organizations are engaged. Therethrough, the solution for the problem of such a great level needs to be well-elaborated and neatly implemented. Also, as many terrorists in the world operate in an orderly manner in the terrain of multiple countries and engage citizens from many countries as well, the solution for this problem requires mutual cooperation and solidarity from the leaders of many countries (Martin 86).
With regards to the specific actions and solutions that should be developed to overcome the problem of terrorism, it should be stated that facts from different corners of the globe show that much is already done in the area (Simonsen and Spendlove 53; 57). In this vein, the activity of the key terrorist organizations in the world is seriously paralyzed by means of successful operations in the countries, subject to their influence. For example, many leaders of those organizations were killed, and many of them were imprisoned for long terms or even for life terms; and in many countries, where terrorist organizations received their support from authorities, political upheavals took place and diluted the financial supply of those organizations.
However, the improvement of the situation with the word terrorism does not show that it is time to stop fighting with this problem and repose on one’s laurels. On the contrary, the events in the world demonstrate that terrorists are ever more active, and they try to find new ways of continuing their activity. One of these ways is affecting mentally unbalanced and even mentally healthy people by their poisonous ideas through the Internet, mass media, written publications, specially organized meetings, etc. (Fischer 605). This tendency is the evidence that terrorists transform their fight into a new and more difficult level, the level of human awareness.
Reflecting on the fact that today, terrorists have chosen a new field of their fight, which is human awareness, global governments should address this problem from this important angle as well. In particular, it is important for them to pay more attention to controlling mechanisms and censorship on the Internet. There should be special agencies that would control the spread of dangerous ideas on the web. Similar activity should be practiced in the area of controlling mass media and written materials. Of course, it is important not to forget about controlling terrorist organizations at the local level and preventing them from attracting new members into their rows through propaganda.
Still, controlling the spread of harmful ideas is not enough. Global governments should strive their best to spread antiterrorist ideas that would explain to the population that using aggressive methods, which terrorists use, is inappropriate and would not help solve the problems they try to. Instead, authorities should teach people to use other efficient mechanisms that would change their lives. In addition, global governments should be occupied with constant monitoring of terroristic demands, and in case they do have a common sense in them, it is important for governments to start solving the problematic issues in legal ways.
As a final point, the problem of terrorism is one of the most complicated in the modern world. During the past few years, it started its transformation to a different level. Today, terrorists act individually, and further investigation shows that no other power stands behind their actions. This is evidence that terrorists transformed their main activity into the level of human awareness, and they try to infect human minds and hearts with their poisonous ideas. To address this problem, the use of strict censorship in the Internet, mass media, written press, and the local levels of personal meetings should be implemented. Also, global governments should spread positive and humane ideas that would teach people the other ways of solving their problems, and they should do their best not to allow the existence of serious issues that might be used by terrorists in their propaganda. Of course, traditional methods of fighting with international terrorist organizations should be also utilized as they proved their effectiveness during the last decade. All in all, solving the problem of terrorism needs well-elaborated plans and actions, which are practiced in solidarity and mutual cooperation between the countries and peoples of the world.
References
Fischer, Peter. “In The Face Of Terrorism.” Journal For The Scientific Study Of Religion 3 (2011): 604-612. Print.
Greenberg, Michael, and Lauren Babcock-Dunning. “Worrying About Terrorism And Other Acute Environmental Health Hazard Events.” American Journal Of Public Health 102.4 (2012): 651-656. Print.
Martin, Clarence. Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues, The United States: Sage Publications, Inc., 2009. Print.
Ranstorp, Magnus. “Terrorism As A Process.” Scandinavian Journal Of Psychology 52.6 (2011): 609-616. Print.
Simonsen, Clifford, and Jeremy Spindlove. Terrorism Today: The Past, The Players, The Future (4th Edition), The United States: Prentice Hall, 2009. Print.