A précis concerning Burleigh Wilkins, Can Terrorism Be Justified :: Terror Attack Septermber 11 Essays

A prà ©cis concerning Burleigh Wilkins, â€Å"Can Terrorism Be Justified† I. On September 11, 2001, I along with the rest of the nation, witnessed historical terror and devastation as the Twin Towers, a long-standing symbol of American prosperity, crumbled to the ground after two hijacked airplanes flew through them early that morning. Almost simultaneously in Washington D.C., a third airliner flew into the Pentagon, and shortly after, a fourth hijacked plane crashed in Somerset Country, PA. Few survivors emerged from the rubble; in the end, thousands were dead, and, without explanation or apology, millions of lives had been changed forever – all in a matter of minutes - a painful contrast to the far reaching affects that this sudden, single act had perpetuated. Over a month later we are only beginning to recover, further affirming the notion that will someday read like a line in a history book, that this was, is, and always will be one of the most horrible terrorist atrocities to ever plague our country. Terrorism has long been a global issue; for centuries it has gone on around the world. People with imperialist hopes for world domination often use acts of terrorism to scare smaller countries into support and subordination of the greater entity. Also, terrorism is often used to personify the hatred of one country for another. Burleigh Wilkins, who authored the piece, "Can Terrorism Be Justified?," raises the issue of whether acts of terrorism are ever morally justifiable, and utilizes situations where "a large number of people share guilt for a tragic situation," in what is known as collective guilt. According to Wilkins, terrorism is any act of violence against a group a people, whether they are the attackers or the victims of the attack. The answer to the title of the piece lies not in the definition of terrorism, but in the delineation of whether or not a terrorist act is justifiable. Wilkins uses this maxim: It is generally agreed that it is justifiable to do violence to another person in self-defense; some wars can be accommodated under the category of self-defense where this is construed in terms of a community of persons defending themselves against aggressors." Wilkins says that if we condemn unjust wars or unjust acts in wartime, then we also condemn terrorism where violence (or the imminent threat of