How to Identify an Extremist
Posted by david koff on Sep 4, 2005 - 7:18:00 PM
***image2:right ***“How to Identify an Extremist"
At a time in world history when we are bitterly divided by social, political and religious points of view, it is reassuring to remember that our deepest fear is also our darkest secret: we cannot survive alone. We are raised by other humans, schooled by other humans, fed and clothed by other humans and use machines, conveniences and weapons which are manufactured by other humans. Like it or not, we depend on one another to survive as individuals, as communities, and as nations.
To those in power, this mode of thinking is subversive because it fosters humanizing everyone around you. And, despite being a Christian country, we don’t like to humanize our enemies because that makes us feel for them. Not surprisingly, since the 9/11 tragedy, our nation’s language has been transformed by our leaders in order to encourage the dehumanizing of others for the sake of violence. The words “Evil-doers”, “Terrorists” and “Axis of Evil” are now commonplace in our lexicon. But a funny thing has happened: people now use the word “extremists” and "terrorists" interchangeably. And this provides an unexpected opening: after all, if we’re fighting extremists, it’s only in other countries, right?
Well, not exactly...
Extremists exist in every culture, in every religion and in every country – even America. Thus, it is essential for each culture to have a guideline for identifying extremists. And since Americans currently have no guidelines from our leadership, I humbly offer my own list on:
"Five Ways to Identify Extremists"
#1) Extremists polarize issues, reducing all options to only two possibilities with no middle ground permitted. I freely admit that seeing the world in simple terms makes life a whole lot easier. For example, if every action is either “good” or “evil” but never “both”, it makes navigating life much simpler. Despite our illusions, however, life truly is complex. For example, how do we reconcile that we each have different definitions of “good” and “evil”? Or that some folks believe in God while others don't? The answer: we can't. Which is why a true democracy must rely on conflict as much as it does consensus.
#2) Extremists won't admit to being wrong and never apologize for their actions. Isn't it incredible how utterly perfect some politicians are? How infallible some experts are? And how they respond to opposition by becoming arrogant, loud, and angry? That's because for the extremist, strength is a necessity. And, since admitting mistakes is considered a sign of weakness for someone in power, extremists will never apologize for their actions regardless of how bad they may be.
#3) Extremists use God or religion to justify often unjustifiable actions or points of view. Muslim extremists site Koranic passages in order to justify suicide bombings. Christian extremists site Biblical verses claiming that only Christ can save your soul from hell. Jewish extremists insist that the entirety of the Holy Land was given expressly to the Jews by God. Isn't is ironic that although Mohammed, Christ and Moses were all peaceful prophets in service to God, that we honor their memory by using violence to achieve our means?
#4) Extremists almost always confuse decisiveness, moral outrage and loudness with correctness. Just because someone makes a firm decision based on their opinions and proclaims it loudly, doesn't mean that they are right. We must always be vigilant when filtering what others tell us, even our leaders. Questioning what we read, hear and watch is a healthy and necessary exercise that allows us to refine our own moral character. Plus, true democracy necessitates working graciously with those who have opposing points of view.
#5) Extremists preach an almost exclusive combination of fear, anger, hatred and violence. Timothy McVeigh blew up the Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Pat Robertson called for the assassination of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Senator Joe McCarthy used aggressive political witch-hunts to attack Communism. Osama bin Laden masterminded the attacks on 9/11 and claimed more attacks would follow. Theodore Kaczynski, the "Unabomber", sent explosives through the mail. Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity were unable to praise President Clinton when he joined forces with Former President Bush to help raise money for the tsunami victims.
When we are finally able to identify those extremists currently among us without fear or resentment, we will be better equipped to deal with the problems that face our neighborhoods, culture and nation. But, if we continue to think of extremists as dark-skinned people from other parts of the world, we may be trapped in a cycle of ignorance and violence for some time to come.
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