UDL: "The Trick Word "Terrorism"

"Terrorism": The Word Itself Is Dangerous
John V. Whitbeck

The greatest threat to world peace and civil society today is clearly "terrorism" - not the behavior to which the word is applied but the word itself. Since the word "terrorism" (like the behavior to which the word is applied) can never be eradicated, it is imperative to expose it for what it is - a word.

For years, people have recited (often with a wry smile) the truisms that "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" and that "Terrorism, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder". However, with the world's sole superpower declaring an open-ended, worldwide "war on terrorism", proclaiming that this "war" has only just begun and promising to persevere until "victory", the notorious subjectivity of this word is no longer a joke.