From Fox News (I know…): U.S. Army Says Blogging Site ‘Twitter’ Could Become Terrorist Tool. The emphasis is mine.
The U.S. Army is flagging the popular blogging service Twitter as a potential terrorist tool, the Agence France-Presse news agency reported Sunday.
A recently released report by the 304th Military Intelligence Battalion contains a chapter entitled “Potential for Terrorist Use of Twitter,” which expresses concern over the increasing use of Twitter by political and religious groups, the AFP reported.
“Twitter has also become a social activism tool for socialists, human rights groups, communists, vegetarians, anarchists, religious communities, atheists, political enthusiasts, hacktivists and others to communicate with each other and to send messages to broader audiences,” according to the report.
“Twitter is already used by some members to post and/or support extremist ideologies and perspectives,” the Army report said.
The blogging service and social networking site has previously sent out messages known as “tweets” faster than news organizations during such major news events as the July Los Angeles earthquake and the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.
“Terrorists could theoretically use Twitter social networking in the U.S. as an operation tool,” the Army report said.
Let’s analyze this. Twitter is a communication tool. Like any tool, it can be used by anyone. It’s sort of like water. Think about that. What if the 304th Military Intelligence Battalion had said something like this:
A recently released report by the 304th Military Intelligence Battalion contains a chapter entitled “Potential for Terrorist Use of Water,” which expresses concern over the increasing use of water by political and religious groups.
“Water has also become a tool for socialists, human rights groups, communists, vegetarians, anarchists, religious communities, atheists, political enthusiasts, hacktivists and others,” according to the report.
“Water is already used by some members “to further extremist ideologies and perspectives,” the Army report said.
Water has previously been used in blessings and baptisms – which are a form of indoctrination. It has also been used for drinking and washing during such major news events as the July Los Angeles earthquake and the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.
“Terrorists could theoretically use water as an operation tool,” the Army report said.
I think that a report (which we as taxpayers funded) highlighting things that are self evident can only have one purpose – to scare people. Do you see that dark skinned man with the fez Twittering there in the corner – I wonder what he’s up to…
What’s really disturbing is that the report makes a direct connection between religious groups and terrorism. Further, it bunches together all sorts of groups that might challenge conventional, government approved ideologies. It is an attempt to instill fear in anyone who might challenge the status-quo, who might be labeled as having extremist ideologies and perspectives (a hugely undefined category – the government can make it out to be whatever it chooses).
By definition we, as Christians, hold extremist views. The Gospel is not about the status-quo. It challenges us personally and as a society, and in its totality it demands justice. We cannot close our eyes to the sins of the world and act apart from the world. We must meet every sin, personal and societal, with a demand for repentance and reform.
I wonder — if someone is in a religious community that is vegetarian and supports human rights — will they be the first to be interred?
Maybe, just to be funny, we should all vote for one of those nondescript parties at the bottom of the ballot. Would that officially label us as extremists? In New York our choices include the Socialist Workers Party and the Party for Socialism and Liberation.