Terrorism is Relative

Terrorism is most often defined as violence, or the threat of violence, on the part of a group, usually non-governmental, in order to promote fear and to coerce other groups or governments into political change. Given this definition, we need to expand the labeling of groups as terrorists and examine, from an historical perspective, our own use of the term. In fact, the term "terrorism" connotes extreme negative activity in which violent militants kill and destroy to achieve their purposes. Contemporary western society thus labels Arab militant groups, specifically, the PLO, Al Qaeda, and the Taliban as terrorists, and, indeed, they fit the definition. What we tend not to label as "terrorist" are those same activities which are carried out for causes we believe to be "good." Thus, American revolutionaries become heroes to us but terrorists to the British Empire of the time. Castro and his...