Critical Thinking Needed in Turbulent Times

The past decade, which Time magazine called “The Decade from Hell,” will likely be remembered as bracketed by the two events that signal important moments in the so-called War on Terror. The opening volley, of course, being the tragic events surrounding 9/11 and the closing note occurring on Christmas Day, as Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab sought to detonate explosives in his underwear on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, only to be thwarted by his own ineptitude and the quick response of fellow passengers.

Although the results of these two events were vastly different, the response was similar and predictable and, largely missed the point. Headlines screamed that Yemen became the new front in the “War on Terror,” the Yemeni President called for increased military aid to combat extremism, airports imposed new security techniques (I am writing this from Newark Airport, having just endured a pat down because of a “bulky sweater”); the President announced new intelligence coordination so this would “never happen again,” and profiling of young males of “troublesome” ethnicities was given credence in places where such talk would heretofore have been verboten.

All this, it seems to me, misses the point. Unless and until we better understand the thinking behind such acts of violence, and then work to change hearts and minds (in part by changing our own behavior in the global arena), terrorism will continue unabated. In a terrific article that appeared in The Witherspoon Institute’s Public Discourse: Ethics, Law and the Common Good, Jennifer Bryson offers wise counsel as we consider ways to combat terrorist extremism.

Bryson states, “[We need to] reach out to key audiences and teach critical thinking, so that youth can penetrate the simplistic narratives of extremists with questions. Place role models in the paths of youth—role models who can handle ambiguity and deal with disappointments. These role models don’t have to all be real people—characters in movies and other media attractive to the target audiences can contribute to this. Stop turning a blind eye to the censorship of progressive Muslim thinkers by dictators we support such as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Media by progressive Muslims abound, but often languish in obscurity due to censorship and lack of access to major media markets. One way to help these already existing media get broader circulation and multiply their audiences is through translations.”

Intersections is all about teaching critical thinking. Our web site, www.changethestory.net, that was created to help heal the rift between the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds, helps its readers—Muslim and non-Muslim alike--transform the narratives that we carry about one another by moving from fear to compassion, from ignorance to understanding and from apathy to action. Whether it is in the relationship between veterans and civilians, between religious people and the LGBT community, between “settlers” and indigenous people, between artists and scientists, and across any lines that divide us, this approach has become a centerpiece in all of our work. It seems an excellent way to teach critical thinking so that irrational acts of violence may not be the defining moments of the decade ahead.