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Terrorism and the Politics of Fear

            With reference to America’s attack of September 11, 2001 by the Al Qaeda, we define terrorism. In this attack, many innocent lives were lost. The objective beside the attack was for the Americans to refrain from indulging in Al Qaeda’s issues. Terrorism promotes fear among the affected people. Politics and fear are other major crises in our current world. They originate from leaders who employ fear and threat speeches among their subjects sequentially to attain certain ambition. Hornqvist (35) quotes that, “terrorism is constructed as an indication that law alone is not enough to provide security”. In this way, a leader should provide tangible evidence of security not propaganda.

Fear emanates from terrorism for which the victims are byproducts. Many victims of fear are believed to be the marginalized groups. This powerless generation does not have other sources of security apart from relying on the national security. In this way, they are greatly affected by the politics of fear. This extent of fear fronts the believe that there is no safer place apart from the schools. Fear also conveys mayhem in social life. Ferraro (75) suggests that, “fear reproduces itself or becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy”. This suggestion defines fear to be the assumption that things can go out of hand.

The mass media has been linked with terrorism and the spread of fear. Broadcasting of terror news also has led to chief havoc of fear amid numerous nations. Quoting Grimm (36), “our press has not been better”. This is because they have laid emphases on terror. The media transmits news with a format that dictates terror. The entertainment also promotes terror and fear among the young. This occurs when the actors behave violently using terror weapons, for instance, if there is linkage of crime, threat and risk, the content inflicts fear to the viewers. According to Ryan (23), “the media should examine what kind of coverage serves the public interest”.

As we have seen above, terror and politics of fear connect with each other. When the enemy realizes that his encounters are coward, he gets courage to pursue them and this promotes terror. According to Altheide (651), “communication format has promoted fear”. With reference to that quote, the media has to be very intense to scrutinize what they broadcast. Authorities have also brought about fear and terror because instead of dealing with the enemy, they campaign with terror. The aim of the leaders is to gain popularity among the citizens and in this way to achieve their malicious ambitions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Altheide, David. “The news media, the problem frame, and the production of fear”. The

Sociological Quarterly 21 April 2005: 646-668. Print.

Ferraro, Kenneth. Fear of crime: Interpreting victimization risk. Albany: StateUniversity of New York Press, 1995. Print.

Grimm, Mike. “Good news, bad news”. American Demographics 1 July 2003: 36-37. Print.

Magnus, Hornqvist. “The birth of public order policy”. Race and Class 1 January 2010: 30-52. Print.

Ryan, Joan. (2002, October 15). “Media feeding the fear”. San Francisco Chronicle 15 October 2002: p. A23. Print.