Justified Actions Term Paper

Justified Actions

The Ethics of Anti-Terrorism

When it comes to being a victim, the best rational thought in the world is unlikely to influence one's opinion. One supposes that even the wife of a German S.S. Officer during the holocaust would be emotionally horrified and even intellectually confused if some Jewish rebel had "murdered" her beloved in the street. The cases of Eric Rudolph and other ideological killers prove this point as the society which they victimize often responds irrationally, pouring back hatred upon hatred rather than seeking to address the core ideological differences. Much of the cultural dimension of the War on Terror is another fine example, as much of the American/European response has been based on emotional patriotism, renewed violence, and stunned outrage rather than a calm, reasoned response.I would not, of course, say that abortionists or the victims of 9/11 were guilty in the same way that the mythical German S.S. Officer was guilty! However, in the eyes of ideological killers of all sorts, those who oppose them are indeed guilty of crimes. One might be disturbed by the sentencing of Eric Rudolph because he seemed like a martyr at the end and those who put him away seemed sadistic, when the opposite was (to the common way of thinking) actually more accurate. However, what that sense of unease actually highlights is the fact that both sides….....