US AGAINST THEM

Samah Asfour

US against Them

                                The myth that surrounds the terrorist is emphasized by the media. The typical image can be described by a multitude of traits that concern social identity.   The terrorist myth evokes fear in the lives of the American people every day, it constitutes evil and the idea of bring the American people together as one to fight against them. The description of the terrorist in one that is specific yet very vague at the same time. Many behaviors and mannerism define a terrorist as described by former President Bush in his speech after 9/11 and his vice president Dick Cheney. These two men have helped create the image of the terrorist and as we can see in the American rhetoric they have helped instill that image in the minds of Americans and people all over the world.

Islam is the initial factor that people associate with terrorists. Religion plays an important part in describing a terrorist. President Bush had explained that these terrorists practice an “extreme and fringe” form of Islam also trying to “hijack Islam itself. He had also stated that these Muslims are anti-Christian and Jews, thus creating a rift between the three religions. People believe that these terrorists are acting in this way in the name of Islam, which is a contradiction of this peaceful religion. These terrorists are, during the Cold War era after World War two.  Also a group of individuals that see Osama Bin Laden as a hero and the American population very much knows that that man is a monster, even though many Americans are unaware that the U.S, in the past, was the one that gave Bin Laden is power and helped instill the idea of killing the enemy in him. At that time the enemy was the Soviet Union Gender and race are also associated with terrorists in this myth because it creates the idea that they are Middle Eastern men.

The notion of uncertainty is also a predominate factor in this myth. Even though we are lead to believe that this myth clearly explains that the terrorist are a part of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda we are still at a disadvantage because we don’t really know where Al-Qaeda is or where they operate and who is a part of them. This unknowing is very coincidental, it solidifies that fact that this is only a myth and not a true fact.

In his interview with Tim Russet, Dick Cheney undoubtedly labels the terrorists as barbarians. The word barbarian dehumanizes the terrorists, making them less than human, and allowing us to bring them justice for what they have done on 9/11. The term is very controversial; it allows Americans to produce a distinction between us and them.  

The myth of the Middle Eastern, Islamic terrorist men is one that has allowed fear and hatred to enter America in a very radical way, creating a difference between our preferred social identities over theirs. Similarly compared to the Communist fear in the late 950s and 1960s, this myth will always have unanswered questions in the minds of Americans.