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Terrorism is effective because the public allows it to be. The reaction of the public is what the terrorists rely upon, people screaming and media coverage, that creates terror. The same concept applies to an oppressive government, acceptance from the people is what is necessary. The government that is trying to prevent terrorism will have the same effect, forcing people into conformity so they do not stand out and become abnormal. The ideal society is where being abnormal becomes the norm, where everyone is their own person and different, and that is to be expected. In Little Brother by Cory Doctorow and 1984 by George Orwell conformity to the government is normal, and the ones who decide to be their own person are different. In the novels 1984 and Little Brother the authors show that whether it is an oppressing government or terrorists, they rely on the general public reaction to support their cause, to give in to what they want, and to spread panic and conformity through out the population; reactions are necessary, but over-reactions are giving in to the attackers.

Terrorists do not attack just to kill innocent people and to take down their landmarks. They attack to cause populations to panic, to make them feel terrorized, and to spur the government and the people to put restrictions upon themselves that they believe will protect them from other attacks. "So aren't we doing what the terrorists want from us? Don't they win if we act all afraid and put cameras in the classrooms and all of that?" (Doctorow 93). In many cases, the attack is not what the majority suffers from, it is the tremors sent through their nation afterward. When America was attacked on September 11, 2001, all flights were shutdown for four days after those attacks (Jay). This was a severe over-reaction, costing the airline industry about $1.4 billion. In this case there was an obvious necessity for a strong reaction, but putting long-distance travel on gridlock for four days is what the attacking parties are looking to cause. In Little Brother, when the Bay Bridge was attacked by terrorists, the DHS came in and put invasive restrictions upon San Francisco's citizens that inconvenienced everyone in the area. From the tracking of their Fast Passes to the physical confrontations to follow up "suspicious" behavior, Marcus's community slowly gave into what the terrorists wanted. As defined by Merriam-Webster, terrorism is "the systematic use of terror especially in the means of coercion," Terrorism forces the victims to make a choice, between leaving themselves vulnerable to another attack or applying so many security measures that the whole system must be shut down. This can be related to internet browsers, Internet Explorer is closed source, not trusting anyone into their system and it's protection is simply hoping no one can find a way in. Firefox, however, uses open source; trusting that whoever finds a way to exploit the system fixes it instead of using their find to hurt others. The difference is in the trust, governments must not lose trust in it's citizens and turn into an Internet Explorer. A Firefox way of doing things at a national level, puts trust in the system already in place. Trust is key. Over reactions to an exploit are unnecessary, more people die in the USA die, every year, from complications in surgery, than in the attacks of September 11th.

In Little Brother, Marcus had to deal with a government that spied on it's citizens, as did Winston in 1984 where people were told what must be done by an oppressive leadership. Oppressive governments come about either by a bloody rise to power, like Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union, by an mislead public electing it, like Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany, or by a public condoning it due to an attack, like in Little Brother. An oppressive government is an encompassing force; they make the rules, however unreasonable they may be, and if one breaks said rules, they are locked away. In 1984, thinking the wrong thing under his government, could entitle severe punishment. "Thoughtcrime does not entail death: thoughtcrime IS death." (Orwell 28). Nothing can stop a government, it is an unstoppable wave, taking out everything that dares stand up to it. The only feasible way of going about bringing it down, is through underground channels, where they have no control. In Little Brother, Marcus uses the Xnet and encryption to dig his own channels, untraceable, undecipherable, and most importantly, private. Marcus and his friends collectively made a network where they knew that others could not listen to them, and started the uprooting of the DHS in San Francisco. "Never underestimate the determination of a kid who is time-rich and cash-poor." (Doctorow 87). A mode of communication, however, is not enough to stop a governing force; there must also be a dedicated group of people ready to sacrifice everything they know and love, for the cause. "If there was hope, it must lie in the proles, because only there, in those swarming disregarded masses, eighty-five percent of the population of Oceania, could the force to destroy the Party ever be generated." (Orwell 69). However, these rebels can be portrayed as terrorists, further enforcing the reason why the government's regulations were instated. Terrorism and oppressive governments go hand in hand, terrorists feel the need to attack them because of their rule; oppressive governments are in place to make the public feel safe from terrorists, while taking advantage of its immense power.

"Belief causes terrorism. There you have it put to its shortest form." (Walker). Terrorism, oppressive governments, rely upon its targets to conform and not to rebel, either by defying to obey or by refusing to be afraid. This is a challenge, not being afraid, when thousands of people died and landmarks went down in a cloud of dust. When I was a kid, I was bit by a big dog, through my upper lip. I was afraid of dogs for 10 years, unreasonable because it was just one dog did it to me, but my mind grouped them all together. Whether this is planes or Muslim people, being afraid is a reasonable thing; however that is beyond unfair. Planes deliver passengers to their destinations everyday, all across the world; and needless to say all Muslims are not terrorists, in fact very few are. The dog bite also left a scar on my lip, reminding me of the viciousness of that singular dog, at that one moment in time. Undoubtedly Americans have a scar left upon them, subconsciously, from that one day, when those planes and those men attacked not only those three buildings, but America as a whole, as a nation, as a community, as a family. Americans all felt this scar, and instead of learning and moving on, they reacted in such a way that security was exponentially increased at all airports, and there was a tangible repelling and disapproval of Muslims in the country. These are the reactions that cause problems. That day, the United States took a definite step towards increased governmental control in all aspects of their lives. Collectively, Americans were scared, they were terrified. However, trust would change this terror into a feeling of security within the current system, trust that their safety was ensured, trust that the government has their back, trust that they will not be attacked again. The problem then becomes whether the government trusts its people, trusts its people to not attack and trusts all others as well. The government must trust the people, and the people must trust their government. "Belief causes terrorism," so as long as the whole world is on the same wavelength regarding their beliefs, there should be no terrorism. Unfortunately that is only a dream. However, if trust could exist, trust that attacks will not happen, then security can go down. Once again though, this is unrealistic, it is an Utopian society, it draws parallels with communism, where we can all just get along. These concepts cannot work due to beliefs, greed, foolishness, hate, human characteristics. Our similarities drive us apart, because they are directed at one another. As long as differences exist, no complete sense of trust can either.

Terrorism relies on a reaction from the public; if the public does not react in a manner that makes the majority of us terrified, their goal was not achieved. Terrorism is caused by belief, and all across the world, people have different beliefs. As humans progress, now reaching beyond just there country, but across the world, interacting with other races, other cultures, we must learn to accept and adapt to each other. Expanding horizons must include expanding tolerances. By no means must everyone love each other, but respect must exist, as essentially as trust must too. Terrorists and oppressive governments both put citizens in situation that forces them to make a decision either way, to conform or not. In both of these novels, conformity was never in their mind. The illusion of conformity suffices while one has the opportunity to work through a community of people gathered behind them. Rebelling anonymously, starting something new, better; can be accomplished by determination, loyal companions, and a definite plan.

Works Cited
 Grigg, William N. "Are the Terrorists Winning? The Purpose of Terrorism Is to Intimidate Targeted Populations into Surrendering Their Freedoms. How Far Advanced Is This Process in the United States? - Free Online Library." Free News, Magazines, Newspapers, Journals, Reference Articles and Classic Books - Free Online Library. 18 Sept. 2006. Web. 02 Mar. 2011. .

 Horblitt, Ben. "Little Brother Questions." Arapahoe High School, Centennial. 19 Jan. 2011. Lecture.

 Jay, Charlie. "The Effects of Terrorism on Air Travel | EHow.com." EHow | How To Do Just About Everything! | How To Videos & Articles | EHow.com. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. 

 Schlenger, William E. "Psychological Reactions to Terrorist Attacks, August 7, 2002, Schlenger Et Al. 288 (5): 581 — JAMA." JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, a Weekly Peer-reviewed Medical Journal Published by AMA — JAMA. Web. 02 Mar. 2011. .

 "Terrorism - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary." Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. Web. 11 Feb. 2011. .

 "The Underground Railroad." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 02 Mar. 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2944.html>.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> Walker, Jim. "The Cause of Terrorism." NoBeliefs.com (Freethinkers). Web. 10 Feb. 2011. <http://www.nobeliefs.com/terrorism.htm>.