Who is a Terrorist?

[Keith Broaders]

Were the Son's of Liberty and Samuel Adams freedom fighters or were they domestic terrorists? The identity of this band of revolutionaries depends upon whose side you are on. In the eyes of those loyal to the King, they were criminals while in the eyes of their fellow colonists they were victims of tyranny and were justified in fighting for their lives, liberty and property.

Were the native Americans at Wounded Knee freedom fighters? Was the government that sanctioned the their slaughter committing an act of terrorism? Was the government that sponsored the Tuskegee Syphilis Study on black men guilty of acts of terrorism? Was the only government to drop an atomic bomb justified in killing the innocent in order to make the world safe for democracy?

Why were we appalled when 3,000 Americans were killed on 9-11, but cheer when our president orders the death of thousands of innocent men, women and children in Iraq? Why do we condemn those individuals and nations that follow the example of our founding fathers in opposing tyranny? How would the American people respond if there were Russian submarines patrolling the Chesapeake Bay or Chinese troops stationed in Philadelphia?

Terrorism is an act of rebellion against the principles upon which our nation was founded. Currently most of our countrymen seem to believe that we should not tolerate acts of violence against the American people but that in order to win the war on terrorism, we must attack and kill those that we think might be a threat to our future security.

That is the same logic that would suggest that the best way to promote peace is to engage in a wars of aggression. If the money spent on wars was spent to feed the children of the world perhaps the world would be a better and safer place to live.

One Nation's Patriots are Another Nation's Terrorists!