Domestic Terrorism

The term terrorism is inextricably intertwined with the notion of foreign actors unleashing widespread disaster on American soil. This notion is not unfounded and carries a very real and very dangerous threat to the US. While the US must of course be constantly vigilant with regard to the threat of an attack emanating from a foreign land, the US must also consider an equally dangerous threat that lurks in our own backyard: the domestic terrorist. Make no mistake, the use of the word domestic should by no means diminish, and should in no way normalize the malevolency these groups perpetuate. One is tempted to limit one’s thinking regarding domestic terrorism to the latest news story and how that may affect the US in the here and now. However,

Even though this type of an attack is certainly horrific and all efforts should be made to prevent such attacks in the future, another more perfidious and incremental threat to the US is on the rise- domestic terrorism. Despite the fact that the legal distinction of domestic terrorism may or may not be applied based on legal or perhaps even political motivations, the carnage that domestic terrorism can unleash upon the US is formidable. Domestic terrorism comes in any forms and is driven by many different ideologies. The domestic terrorist can desire the destruction of the US, the elimination of certain populations of Americans based on the color of their skin or the god they choose to worship, or they may wish to overthrow the government and establish their own version of utopia. The aforementioned examples are of course not an exhaustive list, and there may be individuals or groups that are as yet unknown. With this in mind, the sheer multitude of potential threats to the security of the US appears exponential. Ultimately, due to the exorbitant number of domestic terrorist groups, the task of managing the potential threats is daunting at best. However, mitigation of these threats is possible through collaborative efforts between the government and private citizens. Education without fearmongering is key to developing the cognizance necessary to do one’s part with regard to securing the well-being of the nation as a