A Word that Costs Billions (And Kills Many Thousands)

Last week, a man named Joseph Stack flew his small plane into the side of the IRS building in Austin, Texas. The crash and explosion damaged the building, shattered glass and caused a big fire. Apparrantly, the plane contained not only a deranged software engineer, but extra amounts of combustible fluid - with the intent of causing more damage.

The White House quickly made a statement. It said that this was a "criminal act," not an act of terrorism.

Say what?...

Since when is flying a plane into a downtown building NOT an act of terrorism in the United States. That comment from our president defies logic. Jesus, do I really have to quote the obvious: "Nine-Eleven!"

C'mon, commentators have already pointed out that if this guy's name was "Abdul" there would be no question that it was terrorism. Or, maybe not. Maybe Obama is so afraid of Republican criticism of his handling of the war on terror that Osama Bin Laden himself could fly a plane into the Oval Office and it would be called an FAA flight path error.

But what worries me is not the racial or religious aspect of whether this was terror or not, nor even the part of politics that wants to avoid the right wing terror talking points. It's how much more money we are going to spend fighting something we can't even define. We have spent billions, goddammit - hundreds of billions fighting the war on terror, and now, I can't even tell you what terror is in a commonly acceptable way.

And the fact that I can't tell you does not mean I'm stupid. It means that the word "terror" is the new key to the treasury, the troops and the Constitution. It is a word used at the convenience of our leaders to spend truck-loads of cash on defense contracts, or to escalate wars, or to take away our rights. Cheney/Bush did it, and now it seems that Obama is doing it.

"Terror" or "terrorism" are words that, since 911, invoke a visceral fear, hatred and desire for revenge in most Americans. The words have been given racial (Arab) and religious (Muslim) connotations - we are meant to have a picture in our heads when we hear those words. We are meant to react to that picture in a "no questions asked" way. When we hear "terrorism" we are expected to see a turban-wearing, bearded, olive-skinned Arab man who cites the Koran and declares his intention to destroy us and everything we stand for. The ultimate enemy. When the government says "terror" we don't ask questions, we demand that it's no holds barred! Whatever it costs, whomever we must invade, however we must interrogate...it doesn't matter.

So, when a non-Arab American with a tax beef plows his plane into a government building, well, there's no country to invade, nobody to waterboard, no rights to take away and no big military contract to fulfill (yet!). So it's a criminal act by a deranged individual. The key-word terrorism is not needed, so it is not used.

Words matter. And the words "terror" and "terrorism" matter in our current political and popular cultures. We must recognize that we have been conditioned to react to certain words now, just like words of the past. The word "communism" led people to shit their pants, and spend mega cash and lives in two major wars (Korean and Vietnam) and several minor ones. We look back now at the reactions to the "red scare" and the fallout from Vietnam and shake our heads. But we should see how we are being led down the same path now.

Don't fall for "terror." Or, in this case "not terror." "Terrorism" is the word that is meant to get you not to question your leaders, and champion whatever stupid thing they want to do. Don't fall for it. Demand an intellectual accounting of any action taken by our leaders, not a gainsay of any action taken because "terror" was mentioned.

Americans, CHALLENGE this word "terror." Don't just take Rush's, or Rachel's, or Obama's word on what "terror" means when they are using it. Don't take the bait, instead bait the users of this most charged word in use in America today.

Terror!