Terrorism defined: “(Threats of) violent action for political purposes.” Is defying our nation’s laws in support of personal goals terrorism? Is brandishing weapons in protest of established law an act of revolution and rebellion against the due process of law? Has our new political system, one based on fear, hatred, and resulting violence, replaced the established legal process?
In 2014 a Nevada rancher by the name of Cliven Bundy led an armed rebellion against the Bureau of Land Management in Southern Nevada. The issue was grazing land, and failure to pay fees by Bundy. His two sons, Ammon and Ryan, have joined a group in Oregon who are protesting the extension of jail time for two convicted, and self-proclaimed arsonists, Dwight Hammond, 73, and his son Steven Hammond, 46. The father spent three months in prison for the crimes in 2001 and 2006; the son, one year. A federal judge issued an order to extend their sentences citing that federal legals minimums had not been served.
The Cliven family was not invited to join the protest in Burns, Oregon, according to the Hammond family lawyer. “Neither Ammon Bundy nor anyone within his group/organization speak for the Hammond family,” the lawyer, W. Alan Schroeder, wrote to David Ward, the Harney County sheriff.
The group has seized a federal building; the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, and is operated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, about 30 miles southeast of Burns, in Harney County.
Protestors claim that they do not want violence, but have not ruled out the possibility based on the unknown actions of law enforcement. They said that they are defending the Hammonds who have ‘suffered enough.’
Our nation cannot exist without laws. Anarchy advocated by militia groups would destroy our orderly existence based on political beliefs and subsequent refusal to obey the law, instead of challenging those laws through legal recourse.
Is this an act of terrorism? The statements by militia leaders affirm that this is a fact. Will this group be treated equally as terrorists who take action based upon supposed religious beliefs? I sincerely doubt it. Will this group be supported by the GOP candidates? Probably; if not openly, they will be covertly.
Our politicians must cease their hypocrisy. Selective acts which are or are not labeled terrorism have embarrassed our nation. The tragedy in San Bernardino was labeled terrorism by conservatives before the investigation was complete. But they continue to deny that the shootings in a Planned Parenthood in Colorado, or a black church in South Carolina were acts of domestic terrorism.
The ultimate hypocrisy is that conservatives, led by Donald Trump, have labeled all Muslims as terrorists, but deny that Christians or other extremist groups can receive the same connotation. Even more of a blatant disregard for the safety of the American people is their support of the NRA. These extreme right-wing politicians refuse to support the prevention of legally purchasing assault rifles by those on an FBI list suspected of terrorism. More hypocrisy.
Hypocrisy is abundant in our political system. Rhetoric is used in convenient efforts to support one cause over another. The American Justice System must be completely rewritten and contain comprehensive definitions pertaining to violations of the law. Terrorism cannot be exclusive to extreme jihadists.
Op-Ed
By James Turnage
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