An effective weapon against terrorists: Ridicule

Aha! Those of you who think I am just a smart-ass with my cartoons and lampoons better think again. An editorial in USA Today says that ridicule is an effective weapon against the terrorists.

Read the whole article by clicking on the title link above.

An effective weapon against terrorists: Ridicule
By Peter Schweizer

Is America taking terrorists too seriously? In the wake of continued threats, that might seem like a ridiculous question. But in terms of the psychology of the war on terrorism, it's a question that needs to be asked.

In a brilliant new white paper on public diplomacy, Michael Waller, the
Walter and Leonore Annenberg chair in International Communication at The
Institute of World Politics, makes a strong case for America's employing a new
powerful weapon against the terrorists: ridicule. "Ridicule raises morale at
home. Ridicule strips the enemy/adversary of his mystique and prestige. Ridicule
erodes the enemy's claim to justice. Ridicule eliminates the enemy's image of
invincibility. Directed properly at an enemy, ridicule can be a fate worse than
death," writes Waller.

History teaches that ridicule weakens the moral and political capital of our enemies. Ronald Reagan employed it with great effect during the Cold War. We all remember the "evil empire" speech, but what about the jokes? Two guys were standing in line at the vodka store. They were there for half an hour, then an hour, then an hour and a half. "I'm sick of this," one finally said. "I'm going over to the Kremlin to shoot (Mikhail) Gorbachev." The man left and returned about an hour later. "Well, did you shoot him?" "Heck no," he responded. "The line up there is a lot longer than this one."