In today’s society, terrorism has been a growing concern on the minds of people throughout the world. Following the events of September 11, 2001 terrorism was no longer a story that people watched on the nightly news. This distant concept had struck Americans at home causing it to be the topic of conversation across the country. In light of these events terrorism is a term that is used for a wide variety of offenses. This poses the question as to what acts are terrorism, and what acts are merely menial wrongdoings.

There are a wide variety of definitions that exist for terrorism. Even the United States government currently has several different working definitions of terrorism. The National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) defines terrorism as a violent premeditated act by a political, philosophical, or cultural group on noncombatant peoples. In a similar fashion the United States Department of Defense defines terrorism as unlawful violence used to cause fear and manipulate governments. However, these definitions fall short because they are too limiting in what can be classified as an act of terrorism.

The NCTC and the Department of Defense definitions both appear to be modeled after actual acts of terrorism that occur around the world, mainly the events of September 11. Terrorism includes more than strategic premeditated acts and violence against the government. Another US document, the Patriot Act, uses a broader definition: “acts dangerous to human life.” The Patriot Act was drafted in the wake of 9/11 yet it uses a more inclusive definition of terrorism.

The United Nations, a group that deals with world affairs, has not formally accepted a definition of terrorism. The UN Office of Drug Control and Crime Prevention wrote the definition that is wildly used by the UN. Aspects of this definition fail to clearly define terrorism because they are too narrow. The definition is directed around events that are commonly associated with terrorism in the Middle East. Car and suicide bombing attacks have shaped the definition that the United Nations employs. Included in the definition of terrorism for the United Nations are the words “repeated violent action.” This phrase implies that for any act to be terrorism it cannot be singular. Any American knows that a single act can be defined as terrorism. The events of September 11 are the prime example that refutes this portion of the United Nations definition. The definition also falls short by claiming that the people attacked in an act of terrorism are not the main target. In most cases this notion is true. However, bomb threats, and cyber terrorism are two tactics for terrorism that are excluded by this piece of the Un definition.

The definition that the United Sates and the United Nations use for terrorism are too narrow at times while the definition that schools use is on the other end of the spectrum and is too broad. Some schools use the definition that any act that causes fear in a person can be interpreted as terrorism. This definition is far too broad and includes too many situations that clearly aren’t terrorism. My high school was a school that used this definition of terrorism. On more than one occasion I can remember a typical verbal fight occurring between two students being escalated by the school into a much larger incident. A student in the grade below me was suspended for an entire year because the school felt that remarks he made were acts of terrorism. In this situation the school stepped out of line due to their broad natured definition of terrorism.

Terrorism is a broad topic that encompasses many things. Many definitions fail due to their narrow nature that more closely describe common scenes of terrorism. These definitions fail to incorporate the entire scope of what terrorism can be. On the other end of the spectrum schools incorporate too many things as being terrorism. I believe that any act on a group of people that causes fear and anxiety can be defined as an act of terrorism.

On the large scale this includes horrific acts such as September 11, car bombs, and suicide bombings. Also included in my definition of terrorism would be non-overt tactics used to cause fear. Threats on a group of people such as bomb threats and cyber terrorism are two examples of acts that aren’t violent acts but still are included in terrorism. However, acts on individuals and individual threats are not included in terrorism. Schools can step over the boundaries of what terrorism really is and overuse this term in order to keep students from committing certain acts. All together, anytime the acts of an individual or group cause a number of people to feel fear or panic, they have committed an act of terrorism.