Pre-9/11, "terrorism" referred to acts committed by stateless organizations intending to instill terror to achieve political aims. Now it's used to demonize enemies and others we dislike. For example, according to a 3/2/03 report in the Washington Post, out of 62 cases of "international terrorism" prosecuted in NJ, "all but two involved Middle Eastern men who were accused of paying other people to take their English exams and who were not linked to terrorism in any way." (From a colulmn by Carol Rose in the Boston Globe, 9/16/03.) And then there's Antonio Paolucci, the chief of Florence's museums, who referred to the request for a panel to evaluate ways to restore the statue of David as "anti-restoration terrorism." The more serious result is legislation like the Patriot Act that exempts the fight against terrorism from the protections of the Bill of Rights. Expanding the definition of terrorism leads to government infringements on our right to dissent. Hell, it already has given the government the right to watch what we read.

submitted by David Weinberger

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