Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Terrorism - Essay Example Strongly believing in the cause a person is fighting for, therefore, proves to be the key factor that drives a person into committing acts of terror.2 From a psychological standpoint, it becomes clear the influence people’s beliefs have on their actions. Prominent, social Psychologists advance that people conform to the beliefs of a group in order to find acceptance from other members. Therefore, they adopt their beliefs without questioning them; fearing rejection from the rest. These scholars further posit that people within a group rarely stop to question the beliefs shared by other group members. The psychological, emotional, social and physiological wellbeing brought about by belonging to a group ensures people go out of their way to preserve their positions within the group. In addition, there exists a faction of dominant, leaders within these groups who formulate the code of conduct of group members. Research in Psychology shows that people tend to gravitate towards domi nant, authoritative individuals. They do this by sharing in these people’s believes even when these believes prove to be wrong. This is because these dominant individuals provide their followers with a standard, which can be used to justify their actions.2 Looking at separate acts of terror committed around the world, helps to show how belief plays a crucial role in leading a person to terrorism. ... Dictators played with their followers’ psychological make-up. They did this by twisting their thoughts into believing that their actions were right despite the selfish motives behind their agendas. They understood people’s main weakness of needing something to believe, which gave them a sense of purpose in their lives. In Hitler’s case, he made most Germans believe in the superiority of their race while he rallied for them to commit inhumane acts towards people of other races especially the Jews. As a result, an estimate of about six million Jews lost their lives under the hands of German soldiers in the Holocaust. German soldiers found nothing wrong in their actions because they adored and believed everything Hitler said and further used it to justify their actions. The inhumane treatment of people within the concentration camps spread out all over Germany, and advocacy for World War I & II resulted under the influence of Hitler on people’s beliefs.1 Reli gious beliefs also play a vital role in the guiding of people towards committing acts of terror. Many people around the world gravitate towards believing in a supernatural entity. In most cases, people join religions and begin to believe in the doctrines advanced by these religions because these religions reinforce their faith by giving them something to believe in consistently. Looking back at the history of the Roman Catholic Church, it is apparent that many people gravitated towards this religion because it was the most widespread religion at the time. People believed in the holiness of the papacy and the Holy Mother Church. Therefore, those chosen to form the church’s army believed that their killing sprees were justifiable despite the irony that the command to kill