The World and the Sociological Imagination - Term Paper Example

 «The World and the Sociological Imagination» Abstract: Terrorism is an act of violence carried out by an individual or a group to meet their social, religious or political goal. As a result people not only die, but a larger faction of public gets frightened and traumatized by the act. Sociological imagination is the ability to see personal problems encountered, as part of a larger social scenario. Ideological war against terrorism must be fought on critically serious grounds. Moreover effective and longer term countermeasures should be planned. Terrorism and Sociological Imagination The United Nations describes terrorism as an anxiety-inspiring method of violence conducted by covert actors for idiosyncratic, political or criminal reasons, which equally affects targets beyond the direct targets. In other words, an act of terrorism generates fear. It is communicated to the large faction of the public- the targets beyond the direct victims. It intimidates individuals, societies and governments and compels them to yield to the terrorists’ political, ideological or religious objectives. (Terrorism Research n.d). However, despite being theoretically defined, the word still maintains subjectivity when an act is to be classified as a terrorist job. It supports the saying ‘one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.’ Whether it is interpreted as terrorist or revolutionary depends on the angle from which it is viewed (Terrorism Research n.d). The committer would see himself as fighter of justice and freedom, and his action as a part of the struggle. No deed or person could be more inhumane than the ones the victim has witnessed, for the victim. The views of the general public are mostly volatile; if swayed by the terrorist’s ideological warfare, they may perceive the terrorists as crusaders and revolutionaries fighting for their rights and resisting a powerful evil force, or they may sympathize with victims and perceive the terror-causing actors as evil. For instance, Palestinian organization Hamas is seen as terrorist group by Israelis and the West, where as it is backed by the Muslims and Palestinians who perceive it as a resistance movement against the oppressing West. Similarly Tamil Tigers who rein terror in Sri Lanka is globally recognized as a terrorist organization and is responsible for the assassinations of a dozen high level figures including two heads of the state. Nevertheless, the ethnic Tamils who feel oppressed by the Sinhalese majority see the Tigers as warriors of their rights and freedom (CFR 2009). Hence, an act of terrorism, when viewed from multiple angles, becomes a confusing phenomenon to define. Also, the application of this definition varies with the actors who lead it. 11 September 2001 witnessed the biggest terrorist attack when terrorists hijacked two passenger laden planes, crashed them into the two towers of the iconic World Trade Centre and killed 2752 people (CNN US 2003). However, the ensuing civilian killings in Afghanistan are not highlighted as a terrorist byproduct of the war on terror. Latest figures by IRN show that over 2000 civilians have died this year (Guardian News 2010). So, the distinction of political legitimacy and level of dominance defines what terrorism is and is not (Terrorism Research n.d). Sociological imagination refers to the ability to understand and comprehend the connection between the personal issues that surround the individual and the larger social forces that influence them. Coined by sociologist C Wright Mills, this concept helps an individual see their private experiences as part of bigger social context and solve their troubles according to that social situation (Kendall 2006: 6-7). It is important that people know how to associate their experiences encountered in daily lives to the local, national and international issues that directly or obliquely affect them so that they modify their lifestyles and themselves accordingly for the better (Josh Maher’s Blog 2007). For example, the problem of unemployment involves individual concerns of paying mortgage or affording essentials like health. A larger social scenario would cover the preceding economic meltdown that strained job creation and an entailing rise in poverty level. Social imagination can be applied to various forms of terrorist activities to analyze their general and specific causes, instruments and consequences from a wider perspective. Serial killer Ted Bundy kept American women terrorized in 1970s by killing over thirty six girls and then mutilating their corpses (Time 1979). In August 1945, United States of America dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on President Harry Truman’s executive orders and caused over 200000 casualties (The Manhattan Project). 11 September 2001 witnessed the biggest terrorist attack when terrorists hijacked two passenger laden planes and crashed them into the iconic World Trade Centre and killed 2752 people (CNN US 2003). Such diverse acts possess contrasting dynamics and need to be examined separately. Ted Bundy was a handsome and an apparently normal, charismatic young man who did his majors in psychology. He later enrolled as a law student but performed poorly and dropped out. His obsession with killing and raping white females is often linked to his resentment to his former girlfriend who dumped him. Nevertheless, the excessive pornography that he is said to have been indulged in since a child had a lot to contribute to his pathology, and so he confessed before death (Dir Journal Info Blog: 2008). Today, 28,258 internet users view pornography every second (Top Ten Reviews c. 2006). America has also seen its share of worst serial killers driven by sexual desires by now, naming Gary Ridgeway, Jeffery Dahmer and John Wayne to be a few of them (Dir Journal Info Blog: 2008). Therefore, in order to curtail the murderous, vulgar spree, access to and release of all sorts of pornography must be restricted to minimum possible level. While Ted Bundy was executed in 1989 for the horror he had unleashed, sociological imagination can be said to have been applied to solving serial killing cases from then on. A positive consequence beyond murders was sought and Bundy cooperated with the police to guide them into a serial killer’s mind during Ridgway’s case (Dir Journal Info Blog: 2008), thereby providing guidance to the world in solving crimes of similar nature. The contemporary world however, has been embraced by the concept as a global phenomenon; the world is under attack by terrorist groups that do not hesitate to kill innocent people to pursue their ideological goals. These groups include Al-Qaeda, Hamas and Irish Republican Army. Some are driven by nationalism and struggle for freedom of their culture or the ethnic group they belong to, like Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka and Maoists wrecking havoc in India. Others, like Al Qaeda are motivated by religious extremism and consider secularism or any other form of rule not founded on their religious principles as illegal. Such groups deem modernization as a threat to their indigenous cultures and lifestyles (Terrorism Research n.d). The 9/11 attacks have redefined terrorism and its importance in all parts of the world. These attacks, followed by Madrid train bombings in 2004 and London bombings in 2005, delivered the impression of Al Qaeda as a strong, highly centralized and unified organization with a clear purpose. Gradually, however, it became decentralized with head quarters losing absolute control and many branches formed in different parts of the world to operate more flexibly like Somalia and Pakistan. Although the counter measures that were taken proved to be successful (no major attacks of that scale have happened since then), terrorism has spread like cancer. Walter Laqueur has rightly referred to it as “nuisance terrorism.” Countless minor operations continue to terrorize the people in all continents. The network is still present and well spread and can be activated at any time. Moreover, the disintegration has given them more ground in terms of geography to carry out their activity (Perisin, Cvrtila 2009: 122). James S. Albritton stresses that “we are living in a radically new age of global terrorism and we must seek significantly new ways to understand the nature of terrorism and its consequences.” To understand how terrorism radically evolved in the 20th century, we must understand the instruments that have aided it, intentionally so or otherwise (Perisin, Cvrtila 2009: 122). The information revolution that transformed the global community dramatically in the second half of the 20th century had impacts not only on facets like economy, leisure, education, communication and health, but also in the progress of terrorism. Information revolution has made communication quick and the coordination between people easy irrespective of distance. Costs are negligible and access is easy and so, resources can be easily afforded for the purpose. This continues to be effectively exploited by the negative forces that supervise attacks and activities in one end of the world from the other end (Perisin, Cvrtila 2009: 123). A product of information revolution is the mass media that conveys news and information to large audiences. Terrorists use their acts as a medium of communication with large targets groups: societies, nations and even the mankind. This is aided by the media, which sensationalizes every news piece. Media violence has increased drastically over the last couple of years. Research data shows that it has not just increased in quantity but has also become more graphical, sexual and sadistic. It is not a rare sight to see explicit pictures of slow moving bullets protruding out of people’s chests and dead bodies covered in pools of blood anymore. Such atrocious sites are watched by millions world over. It has been exploited to the extent of showing female World Wrestling Entertainment on TV too. A lot of research has been done on media violence. Over 1000 case studies have been conducted evaluate the impact of media violence. Each one of these cases have shown that media violence can impact children negatively. Over the course of period, it increases their aggressiveness and antisocial behavior. They become less sensitive to violence and its victims. They become addicted to violence in entertainment and start imitating it in real life. Media violence is even more damaging for young children that fall under the age bracket of 8 years and 1. This is because they are unable to differentiate between real and reel. They get enticed by violent images flashed on TV. At-times watching these images can further traumatize them . Coverage of an attack from its visuals to its comments and analysis successfully instills fear in hearts of the public, who get the ‘message’ that they can also be the direct victims if the demands of the terrorists are not met. The saying, ‘kill one to keep thousands in fear’ is implemented. It can safely be said that a symbiotic, albeit silent, relationship exists between mass media and terrorism; the former gets sensational top stories that need not be violent, thereby attracting viewership and increasing their ratings, while the latter is able to interact, threaten and send symbolic messages to the individuals and government, as their latest developments receive worldwide publicity. They also use sophisticated approach to communication, such as anonymous calls to TV shows, threats through letters and emails, tipping off on telephones, issuing messages on video and audio tapes on websites and to news agencies, and even setting up their own local television and radio stations. The results that they eventually achieve are the polarization of public opinion in their favor, spreading false news and information to mislead the enemy and publicizing their beliefs and agendas. Therefore, every act should be observed at a wider angle and its symbolism should be well accounted as a powerful message stimulator. In other words the “language of violence” being used should be properly interpreted. (Perisin Cvrtila, 2009: 123-131). Terrorism continues to evolve in the new millennium, and has been able to adapt to the new challenges thrown in its way by the unmatched technologies and continuously improving countermeasures. They have been able to modify the existing methods and efficiently use the technology that they possess. The terrorists have devised ways of communication by effectively exploiting the information technologies and dodging law enforcement agencies. Encrypting the messages being exchanged that agencies could not decipher, using disposable cell phones, and internet cafes provided a relatively safe passage for the terrorists. The greater adaptability of Al Qaeda, for instance, is evident from their gradual decentralization that the group went through, when coordination of the network became complicated and insecure (Terrorism Research n.d). Counterterrorist activities include identifying terrorist networks, knowing their organization and technologies, so that adequate retaliation can be planned against them, personnel can be trained and technologies can be equipped accordingly. The obvious edge in technology of the intelligence agencies is being used to monitor their communication channels, but should be made more efficient as the current level clearly does not suffice for the extensive magnitude of terrorism stretched across the globe. Disturbances can be created in the flow of information to disrupt their interactions. Above all, the information infrastructure should be protected from such forces and some sort of restrictions should be imposed on use of the powerful tool of communication (Perisin, Cvrtila 2009: 123-125), which is a sociologically imaginative solution to the problem as it deals with a wider perspective and will disrupt their motives for a longer term and affect on a bigger scale. The mentioned measures, however, will only help fight and perhaps win the war. These are not the solutions to the century’s long conflicts that exist between nationalist and extremist groups and their opponents. A currently crushed insurgency may raise its head few decades later owing to the movements’ strong ideology. A better solution might be to negotiate with the groups and appease them by meeting demands that can be met in turn for peace. The Obama administration of the United Stated of America has recently been reported revising the Afghanistan strategy in favor of talks with Afghan Taliban, the Afghan resistance group, due to the frustrating deadlock at which the War on Terrorism in the country stands after 10 years of its launch (Guardian News, 2010). War on terrorism needs to be fought on two grounds: physical and ideological. The allied forces are successful in giving the terrorists a hard job on physical grounds. Current US troops deployed in Afghanistan amount to 89000 soldiers, with total number of soldiers positioned there including the NATO forces are way more (Politifact.com, 2010). With such an enormous military force with parallel technology and other resources, defeat in physical arena is not a hard task when compared to indigenous tribes lacking support in both kith and kin. It is, hence, the ideological grounds that these terrorists must be competed with and defeated at. The ideology and principles they stand on are inculcated in their roots, since the Afghans have defended these against the outside forces that have tried to conquer it before, like the Soviet Union in 1970s. Being hard at core in Afghanistan, this religious ideology has been quick to spread throughout the Muslim World, especially in the late twentieth century, as Muslims from around the globe began to answer the call to Jihad and began to gather at the centre, that is, Afghanistan (Perisin and Cvrtila, 2009: 121). Cutting the long story short, these revolutionaries derive their strength from their powerful dogmatic arena, which is being neglected in devising countermeasures. In modern times, it is being spread ironically through the media as mentioned above. Martha Crenshaw (cited in Perisin and Cvrtila, 2009) rightly concluded that “the most fundamental goal of terrorism is to be awarded and receive attention.” This is being met by the effective coverage of the media. This ideological warfare can be countered by spreading awareness of the terrorists’ violent motives, their means and their targets, along with publicizing the governments own stance and beliefs on the issue. Media should be reminded of its social responsibility at an international level, and demanded that restricted news on terrorist activities must be reported so that apprehension in public can be prevented, which is often the prime motive of terrorist activities In the end, countermeasure strategies should be improvised, such that terrorists are punished for their crimes, and new procedures involving the society are devised and implemented to strengthen its resistance. The symbiotic relationship between media and terrorism should be dealt as a matter of deep concern, and efforts should be made to disrupt this mutual connection. Such are the solutions in the larger context to help control terrorism when social imagination is applied to the problem (Perisin, Cvrtila, and 2009: 131). List of References: CNN US (2003) New York reduces 9/11 death toll by 40 [Online] available from [2 October 2010] Council on Foreign Relations (2009) Hamas [Online] available from [2 October 2010] Council on Foreign Relations (2009) Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (aka Tamil Tigers) (Sri Lanka, separatists) [Online] available from [2 October 2010] Cvrtila, V., Peresin, A., (2009) ‘The Transformation of Terrorism and New Strategies’ Politička misao, [online] 46, (5) 121-139 available from [2 October 2010] Dir Journal (2008) America’s Famous Serial Killers [Online] available from [2 October 2010] Guardian News (2010) White House shifts Afghanistan strategy towards talks with Taliban [Online] available from [2 October 2010] Josh Maher’s Blog (2007) Sociological Imagination [Online] available from [2 October 2010] Kendall, E. (2006) Sociology in Our Times [Online] Belmont: Cengage Learning. Available from [2 October 2010] Politifact.com (2010) Number deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan show one war got a lot more troops [online] available from < http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/aug/03/paul-krugman/number-deployed-iraq-and-afghanistan-show-one-war-/> [2 October 2010] Terrorism Research (n.d.) What is Terrorism? [Online] available from [2 October 2010] The Manhattan Project (c. 2003) The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima [Online] available from [2 October 2010] Time CNN (1979) Nation: The Case of the Chi Omega Killer [Online] available from [2 October 2010] Top Ten Reviews (2006) Internet Pornography Statistic [Online] available from [2 October 2010] Read More