How many of us are not moved by what Terrorism is doing unto our World? Except for terrorists themselves, I believe that all of us are angry and sad; yet more, we all feel thoroughly disappointed and frustrated about the infertility of the measures taken by all Nations involved in fighting terrorism. If we do not want to take the Conspiracy Theory turn, we can assume that the apparently scattered and cellular nature of terrorist organizations makes it very difficult for military and intelligence tools to inflict an effective and efficient solution for this socio-political epidemic that has largely invaded our World since the beginning of the Century.
In this respect, what can we do? Feeling helpless and safe-less are the least to think of, especially in a context where remedies are not clear, and the means through which we, as civilians, can fight terrorism are not available, or at least not smoothly streamlined. Does this mean that we should surrender to this plague and let it eat up our civilization? Does this mean that we should exchange hatred by hatred hence allowing for yet more misery and agony? Obviously, all the seemingly-good intentions to beat the beast have proven ineffective so far. Refugee Support, Development Aid, International Conferences, and Bombing masses of terrorists blended with civilians are not, and will never be the answer.
If all this is not working, then what could? Well, solving a problem that is beyond traditional requires seeking solutions that are beyond the obvious. As an HR Expert I learned that, except for natural disasters, all problems are linked to human behavior, and almost all human behavior is learnt. Thus, the main source of all problems is in how we learn and what we learn. It’s all in Education and Cultivation. Yes, what I am saying is that beating terrorism can only happen through Education and Cultivation. Not just any kind, but the Education and Cultivation of Abundance, Positivity, and Acceptance of what is different.
All terrorism ideology is based on the philosophy of Scarcity (it is either you or I, as there is no place for both of us on this globe), Negativity (everything has gone bad and there is no way to fix it except through annihilation), Repulsion of others (if you are not one of us then you are an enemy). With this in mind, how would we expect that exchanging Scarcity with Scarcity, Negativity with Negativity and Repulsion with Repulsion will solve the problem? The answer is in Education and Cultivation, because they both act as a protecting shield against Mind Poisoning caused by the promoters of terrorism.
I believe that if Education makes a Living, Cultivation makes a Life. Hence, if we want to beat the beast we will need both of them. Education can help a man better understand and acquire the means for making a dignified living, yet, somewhat it is not enough. Cultivation is the mean cure against the cancer of Mind Poisoning. Cultivation teaches us to open up to others, understand civilizations, and accept that ‘Different’ is not a synonym of ‘Bad’. Both Education and Cultivation can make up what we all would love Humanity to stand for: A positive melting pot of mutual understanding and acceptance leading to prosperity.
I mean let’s look at the majority of people, and populations targeted for conscription by terrorism masterminds. They are societies that witness a minimal or total absence of Education. More important, cultivation is in many cases a taboo; I mean how can we get a cultured mind when books are banned and open dialogue is disliked (if not forbidden)? None of us can forget the Story of Malala Yousafzai who for raising the voice for Education she was shot in the head. It is an absurd simile when you shoot the head, is as if they are saying: “You are not allowed to think”! Still, you know what is even worse? It is when terrorism masterminds themselves become the educators. In this case, we might as well be better off without education at all!
Bottom line, we can always choose to spend more than a trillion dollars on weapons to bomb terrorists, but what will we generate in return. How simpletons can we be to think that we are going to kill them all? You can kill a lot of people, but you cannot kill a deeply carved mindset; you can only aim to change it, and that is what we need in order to beat terrorism. If you kill thousands, or hundreds of thousands, more will meanwhile be graduating from the schools of hatred that teach youth the philosophy of scarcity, negativity, and repulsion. We might otherwise consider spending 500 billion dollars on Education and Cultivation in terrorism hubs. With Education, people who are mostly vulnerable to mind poisoning would have another alternative to make a living; yet more important, with cultivation, those same people would know that the World out there is not evil just because it is different.
Media, Governments, Schools, Religious Entities, Civil Society Activists, and most important Homes and Families should all be involved in spreading the philosophy of Abundance, Positivity, and Acceptance. It will take years to change what has been in the making for decades, because mindsets are of the hardest material in Nature to change. Yet, I believe this is the only antidote for terrorism. If we do so, maybe we can increase our chances of beating the beast, and I think we would.