Motivation for the Attacks of September 11th
Motivation for the Attacks of September 11th
A terrible event took place on September 11th 2001. Our nation was attacked, but not over seas or financially. This nation and its people were attacked here, within the United States, by our own planes. Members of the Islamic extremist group know as the Taliban attacked the United States and our way of life. The leader and financier of this group, Bin Ladin, is now the main suspect as the mastermind behind this attack. These people seek not only to destroy buildings and kill Americans, but they also wish to combat the American way of life and install terror into the minds of Americans everywhere. To them this a religious war, or Jihad, against the American evil.
Explaining what motives were behind this attack can be done by using three views on socialization, which are Functionalism, Conflict Theory, and Symbolic Interactionism. Functionalism is based on the assumption that all aspects of society exist in an equilibrium. Functionalists relate society to a machine with individual parts working together to make the machine work. A change in the machine or dysfunction will cause the machine, or society, to stop working. Conflict Theory, is the belief that change is needed in a society in order for the strong to fall and to be replaced. This overthrowing and rebirth of society is a normal routine within Conflict Theory. Finally, symbolic interactionalism focuses on the individual’s performance in a society, and how they see the world around them. In this particular scenario, of the September 11th attack, the conflict theory best describes the terrorists’ motives for this attack on our way of life.
Up until the morning of September 11th the people of the United States of America led routine lives. All aspects of this society were attempting to advance the society to new economic and social heights. The motive for the terrorists that day was to try to disrupt the machine, which is the American society. By doing this they hoped to cause chaos in which America would fall socially and economically. This is why they choose a high populated economic icon and the center of our military power as targets. They were successful in some degree in this attack. The economy is now suffering because faith...