What Can You Do?

Terrorism is a cause that can never be fully contained. It is a disease that does not have a cure. However, it has treatments that can help minimize its outbreak and control it when it strikes. There is no simple way to put an end to terrorism, but there a few ways that we can ensure it will not have the same catastrophic effects that were brought with 9/11 and other terrorist attacks.

1. Remembering those who have fallen: One way that you can ensure that the effects of terrorism are as minuscule as possible is by remembering the innocent lives that have fallen as victims of terrorist attacks. The innocent people who have died in terrorist attacks did nothing the terrorists to motivate their attacks; they simply live in a country that the terrorists have strong feelings against. They lost their lives in an event they couldn't possibly have had a role in bringing about, and therefore we should honor them with a brilliant legacy.
2. Keeping our spirits high: One main goal of terrorism is to bring about any form of deep pain to any citizen of the victim country; terrorists want people to look back on an attack and shudder or tear up. Instead, we should react to terrorist attacks with a sense of nationalism. After the Boston Marathon bombings, people developed the idea of "Boston Strong": the city of Boston came together to send a message to the world that no matter what you throw a them, nothing can shake them.
3. Stepping up our game: The effort to end terrorism has cooled off the fire, but still has not fully put out every flame. The fight is still going on, and there's a lot you can do. Feel strongly about putting an end to terrorism? Join the military operations in the Middle East. Don't want to get thrown onto a battlefield? Help support the troops from back home. Start anti-terrorism campaigns to bring awareness to the problem. Write to your the government about stepping up security measures in highly attended places. Terrorism is a disease; we've had success with our treatments, but the fight to find a cure must rage on.

There is a lot you can do to help the War on Terror. You don't need to be the one shooting down every terrorist in the world to make a difference. You could pull out your iPhone or Galaxy S5 and send out a tweet, or text your homies or your mains. You could plan to stop by the 9/11 Memorial in New York, the Pearl Harbor Memorial of you're in Hawaii. As former president George W. Bush said in an address to the nation from the Oval Office, at 8:30 pm on September 11, 2001, "America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining."

External Links:

• www.911memorial.org
• Official site of the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York City; gives an in-depth analysis of the events of September 11
• http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/terrorism
• FBI webpage listing statistics and general information about terrorist attacks since 1970
• http://www.un.org/en/terrorism/
• United Nations webpage describing its efforts in counterterrorism