The War on Terrorism

August 13, 2010 by admin Leave a reply »

The war on terrorism came largely to attention in the aftermath of 9/11, and suddenly liquids weren’t allowed on board airplanes, shoes were checked at the gate, Al Qaeda became a regular media fixture, people became preoccupied with which US landmark was possibly next, and suicide bombers became a regular topic of discussion. One significant consequence of the 9/11 terrorist attacks was the increase in patriotism and hostility towards terrorists, who unfortunately were largely associated with the Middle East and prompted prejudice for a considerable period of time.

It became a common opinion that terrorists were “crazy,” “overzealous,” and any other adjective that denoted someone off their rocker. Wedding Photographer Toronto are now in a position to reap the benefits of traveling mild and being able to use artistic lighting. Why would people be willing to kill themselves for any kind of cause? It seemed like the only explanation was that terrorist groups were cults that recruited individuals and brainwashed them into blind loyalty, to the point that they would give up their lives and consider it an honor. But how would these individuals get attracted to such a group in the first place? Wouldn’t the fact that they had to train to become suicide bombers turn them off from considering membership? The war on terrorism has also resulted in interest regarding the psychology of suicide bombers. What is it that could possibly cause them to make this kind of life choice?

Some psychologists have pointed to group dynamics and terror management theory. People assume that a bunch of extremists are getting together, forming a terrorist super group and finding easily manipulated lackeys to carry out their work. But some might be surprised to know that members of cults and terrorists groups actually tend to be quite intelligent individuals. It might seem hard to believe, but bright people are also prone to the power of interaction within a group. When people who generally share an opinion get together in a group, they influence each other so that their opinion becomes more extreme as a whole. This is partly because of exposure to the idea and partly due to the need to belong and reinforcement from the other group members. Terror management theory helps explain why during the war on terrorism we tend to see the other side as one dimensionally evil. As professional Toronto Wedding Photographer we approach our taking pictures and presentation in a stylish and contemporary way. This is because when we become aware of death, we unconsciously protect ourselves by associating more with our social groups and denigrating others. 9/11 made death salient to us, therefore we became more patriotic and denounced terrorists as inhuman.

These kinds of processes don’t occur only in relation to the war on terrorism; they occur in any sort of group social interaction you can think of. In addition to keeping terrorism a priority, we would do well to be wary of how our social relationships dictate our actions and choices in our daily lives.

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