The Fallacy of Emotional Thinking

The multiple bombings today in London highlight a fact that all should know but few choose to recognize. The idea that any society can stop random terrorist acts is at best a dream and at worst a lie. Deep in our hearts we all know that if a person or group wishes to destroy life and property with no thought to their own survival, then there is little to nothing that a law bound and civil society can do to stop them, and yet we throw money and slogans at this monster as if our actions will have real results. Perhaps our fear will not permit us to do less, but do we want to be run and governed by fear. I would hope not.

What then should be the proper reaction to these now common yet unbelievable acts of violence? Terrorists around the globe are behaving like spoiled children, and to this end they should suffer the consequences of their actions. Pursued and captured whenever and wherever possible. The root causes for their behavior is irrelevant. Yet while efforts to eliminate any criminal element in society makes sense, how beneficial is the massive expenditure of money or the drastic infringement on personal liberty that this War on Terror has extracted? A free thinking person should rightfully cringe. Perhaps it is time for reason to enter the room. What might a reasonable and rational course of action be?

We are spending billions of dollars a year in an effort to save peoples lives from terrorism with no guarantee that we are having any effect. If we are committed to spending money, imagine if we spent that money on programs that we knew saved lives. What if we spent billions on food programs, and on education? Millions die yearly around the globe because of conditions that could be remedied for pennies. Is it logical that we spend billions for the illusion of saving lives rather than focusing that money where we are certain that we can make a difference…is it even ethical?

Terrorism is designed to scare people out of their course of action by causing them to react emotionally to a situation. While it would be impossible not to be anxious and frightened by recent and possible future events, it is imperative that the civilized world rise above instincts and act with forethought. Only in doing so can we assure that we are creating a world of our own design, and not following a blueprint conceived by madmen. Let us honor those who have died both heroically and tragically by pushing forward toward a free and prosperous tomorrow, after all, peoples lives depend on it.