The Looming Towers

The Looming Towers

Smoke drifted lazily into the skies of New York City. It had been the gem of America, an economic center symbolized by the gigantic towers that stretched to the very heavens.  They were a symbol of American success, its near invulnerability. But the very values American’s hold dear had fallen under attack. The smoke drifting into the air was the sad reminder of the destruction wrought by the terrorists a few days before. 9/11 is a day that will forever live in infamy in the hearts of the American people. It was a catastrophic event that has come to form and drive the politics of the 21st century. The attacks on that day was the catalyst that drove the relationship between the United States of America to a whole new level. It was a cowardly attack targeted at innocents by people who had so perverted the religion of Islam to the point that it was nearly unrecognizable. The question all over America was where had these attacks originated. The Looming Tower seeks to answer this question by going back nearly a century ago. 

After World War II, many in the west sought to form a Jewish state where the millions of Jews who had been persecuted by the Nazi’s could survive and thrive. This goal, spearheaded by the United States, lead the allies to create the state of Israel. The Holy Land was the perfect place for the Jews to have their state. It was their homeland and their holy land. This newly formed state angered many Arabs who had already lived in the region, however. They felt that they had pushed off their homeland, just had the Jews had been centuries before, and claimed it as their own. This would be just one of many event that would lead to a hatred of Western ideas and the leader of the Free World, the United States.

In Egypt, an oppressive ruler named Nasher was another source of radicalization. He ruled with an almost antireligious ruthlessness. Qutb, who had once been a friend and advisor to Nasher, had been alienated and wrote many books about the problems with the westernization and modernization of Islam. He believed that the values at the core of Islam were being corrupted. He eventually died because of this belief. This was the first time in centuries that this had occurred in such a public manner. He was the first martyr in the Jihad against change and eventually the West as a whole. His ideas lead to the creation of groups such as the Brotherhood of Islam, a predecessor of Al-Qaeda.

This kind of thing was not only occurring in Egypt; however, it was occurring all around the Islamic world. The West would later become an enemy of these groups, but first they had a much more immediate threat to deal with, communism. Ironically, many of these Islamic groups even had support against the Soviet Union from the United States. One of the countries which had been an ally of the U.S. was Saudi Arabia. This is where the Bin Ladens come into the picture. Mohammed Bin Laden came from a family of little money and built himself an empire of a construction company. His work ethic was so great that he would himself go out and work with his workers. He paid his workers well and was a very kind, giving man. This helped him gain power, wealth, and stature fast. 

He had 19 wives throughout his life and a very large amount of children. One of which was Osama Bin Laden. He, from an early age was different from his siblings. He believed very strictly in the rules of Islam and his biggest role model was his father. He was a decent student and was educated; however, he eventually dropped out to get his place in his fathers business. Then he gained power and wealth in similar ways his father had. He gained power by making friends in the Saudi government. He also became a large part of an organization meant to return Afghanistan to the control of Islam instead of the communism government that existed. It was there that the ideas of Al Qaeda began to form. He had a mistrust for America that almost seemed to come from a jealousy. He had, however, accepted help from the West in the struggle in Afghanistan. 

In the early years, his Al-Qaeda had little success, but in one struggle against the communists at the Lion’s den he gained respect for his cause. When he returned to Saudi Arabia, he had more power and an air about him. Life was good for him and his organization, but then when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and threatened the Saudis, Saudi Arabia turned to America for help. This angered Bin Laden, who believed that Muslims could defend their own land and fearing that the United States wouldn’t leave. He eventually was exiled to Sudan and became even more infuriated when the United States stayed in Saudi Arabia after the immediate threat had been defeated. In Sudan he had a good life though. He was treated as a king and a had a large amount of money, but eventually this money ran out. His family had cut him off from the fortunes of its company and without it he had little way to support Al-Qaeda.

His fortunes turned even further for the worst when the country of Sudan decided he was no longer welcome. They seized his assets in the country, which were valued at several million dollars, and told him he had to leave. During this time, America had their chance to nab him and stop everything that was to occur in the future, but at that time they did not see Bin Laden as a threat. He then moved his operation to Afghanistan where he coexisted with the Taliban. They supported him believing that he had money to support their cause, and he kept this front by calling in favors from past donors and supporters of Al Qaeda. It was in the caves of Afghanistan that he hatched his master plan to crush the U.S. as a whole. He planned on hitting a series of military, government, and economical centers all at the same time in a crushing blow to American civilization. Years of planning went into the final outcome of destroying the World Trade Centers and the attack on the Pentagon. 

Bin Laden believed that with these attacks he would crush any resolve that remained within Americans. He, believing Americans to be weak people, thought that by terrorism he could destroy the lifestyle, ideals, and even morals of Western society. He, however, was incorrect. For as materialistic as the West may appear, our core is still based on our values set hundreds of years ago. We value freedom and will do anything to keep it. 

This was a very interesting book to me. I enjoyed gaining a new view on radical Islam and terrorism as a whole. Instead of the usual things that you hear about 9/11, this book actually explored the principals, values, and idealism that caused the attacks. It painted a picture of the Al Qaeda institution through its struggles, successes, victories, and losses. Looming Tower puts a face on an enemy of the United States that in the past had only been known to me by name. Understanding the dangers that face our country is the first step in our safety, and 9/11 provided a terrible, but powerful lesson in America’s advancement into the new millennia. 

A VIndication of Women's Rights

What is our purpose in life? Should a man be the protector, the provider, and foremost the father of his family? Should he lead like a king, his subjects his children and wife? The roles of men and women have been debated for centuries and A Vindication of Women’s Rights explores these roles, crushing the common beliefs that existed at the time. Wolestonecraft believes that

Women are told from their infancy, and taught by the example of their mothers, that a little knowledge of human weakness, justly termed cunning, softness of temper, outward obedience, and a scrupulous attention to a puerile kind of propriety, will obtain for them the protection of man; and should they be beautiful, every thing else is needless, for, at least, twenty years of their lives.

There is a lot of truth in this opinion still today. The author describes women as the suppressed side of the human race. In a still male dominated world, where strong women are often considered masculine and even feared in some cases, these stereotypes are alive even after hundreds of years of war against them. It is ironic that in a world that seems to constantly talk change, in a lot of ways the world has gone back to tradition in many aspects of life. Morals and values originate so deep in our traditional upbringing, especially in the United States, that change is almost nonexistent. We adapt and advance, but our morals, values, and beliefs remain constant.

She sources the traditional female inferiority all the way back through the bible to the very creation of humankind. Eve being created from man is cited by many as rationale for these common held beliefs. Wolestonecraft even goes as far as saying if women don’t break free of the common beliefs and simply continue to submit to the wills of men, then they deserve to be considered inferior. I find it interesting that throughout the paper, even though it is obvious that she has strong opinions, she very carefully portrays them in order to prevent her from sounding too strong or offensives. She deliberately avoids direct confrontation with beliefs she has a problem with while carefully and strategically tears them down at the same time.

I find this fact ironic. It is easy to tell that the author is a revolutionary and a very strong women, yet she shares her opinion with care as to not offend her readers. This seems silly because the whole purpose of the writing and the message that comes across is confrontational to the norms of society.

In addition to attacking the norms that hold down women, the author also goes after humankinds submissive outlook on God himself. She believes, and rightfully so, that instead of being independent and strong, women and men alike depend on religion instead of using it at a tool to learn and thrive. With education comes power and independence. And women, in her time especially, did not receive the education they needed. In order to break the norms of society, and change and become greater than ever before, our generation must be educated like never before.

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

This was a very interesting article that really helped me explore how our life and how we think constantly is changing because of new technologies. Our brains are constantly are adapting to the world around us and for better or worse…the internet. Like any other technology that has enlightened human kind throughout our existence, the internet has both its promises and perils. It has connected out world together like never before making more and more information available to everyone on the planet.  The internet puts “efficiency and immediacy above all else” changing the way we search for information and even think. Every aspect of our life today is changing in order to make it more efficient. In a world that is moving faster and faster every day, time is of the essence more than ever in even the recent past.

In this world where information flows instantly, our knowledge is constantly changing, and new ideas become old in a matter of moments, the internet is the perfect tool to push this process along…or is it? Even with the immense technological advancements that have occurred, nothing can compete with the human brains ability to reason and adapt, and yet we are beginning to let this go to waste by not thinking ourselves. We are content to simply “Google Search” anything we want to know, get a quick summary, and be done. There is no thinking involved to this and I believe this goes right along with some of the points brought up in this article. I fear that I too suffer from many of the fears brought up in this article. Even now, as I type up this entry, my phone buzzing next to me pulls my attention away from this paper. Our ability to concentrate on one task at hand is suffering. This is partially due to an ever expanding world pulling our attention in all directions and the internet which helps connect us to it all.

I found more and more truth in the words of the article as I continued to read on through the seven pages. As I read, I found myself beginning to skip lines, my mind drifting. As I forced myself to concentrate again and again, I realized that there was a lot of truth to the fact that our minds are being trained for shorter more efficient information with every click on the internet. When you go onto the internet, which has become the primary source of information for everyone, you want to quickly and efficiently find what you need, not read through some multipage essay in to find the one desired fact. Whether this is laziness or simply the way of the future I am not sure; however, this is the way it is. Our brain is adapting to this change and maybe we need to let our minds adapt as well. Why can’t there be a way to both be efficient by finding the information we need on the internet, and then use this information to form new ideas? All that needs to occur for this to be accomplished is a little bit of thinking.

This, for some people, is difficult. When many people go online, they do not want to think. As they surf for their information, a Facebook tab flashes telling them they have a new message. Music plays in the background from Pandora Radio as they try to stay concentrated on skimming an article. A buzzing phone grabs up the persons attention as it buzzes. After a simple text is sent, the person must again get back on track while realizing that they simply must change the song! Distractions are more prevalent today than ever, and they are everywhere! At home, at work, at school. Our brain is overwhelmed by the simple volume of information we take in and what choice does it have but skim it and hope it doesn’t miss anything important. So the question is, “Is Google making us stupid?” I believe stupid isn’t the right word. It is changing us, that is for sure, but the internet is also bringing about wonders not even dreamed about in the past. The only way to know for sure is to wait and see what the next 20 years bring us.