The Historical Context of Terrorism and Our Next Steps As the horrific tragedy of 9/11 enters the permanent corridors of our conscious lives, our reactions as a society are manifold. There is shock, grief, anger and other emotions that we haven't fully understood or found the words to describe. As we search for explanations, our sages in government, media, and academia seek to help us articulate what we have experienced. We have been told that our innocence is gone, that World War III has begun, and that we are facing a new and deadlier form of terrorism than the world has ever seen. There is no doubt that our lives as a nation will be changed. from the destruction of that day. The thousands of lives lost cannot be restored, and their loss cannot be explained to those left without. Fear will become a presence that greater security can never truly dispel. Sacrifices will be made if our government chooses to retaliate with war, as appears to be the case. We are driven to resume normal lives, both as a healing mechanism and as a tactic in the war against terrorism. Sporting events will resume and we will cheer for another kind of victory, movie theaters will once again draw crowds to see the digitized specters of violence, chaos and terrorism, and of our daily routine of making a living, providing food for our families and seeking a temporary escape in front of televisions, in bars and restaurants with friends will continue. The firebomb that brought down the World Trade Center will be a memory. From a historical perspective, the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon are not entirely new; they are part of an evolutionary model that continues to metastasize in the social fabric of the Western world. Modern terrorism began in a democracy: in 1793, the French government, after four years of experiencing the problems of creating a democratic republic, inaugurated a self-proclaimed "reign of terror" in which tens of thousands of citizens were victimized and executed as "enemies of the revolution". The terror from below began with the Italian Carbonari, small cells of Italian patriots who killed French officers during the occupation of Europe under Napoleon. In 1849, Karl Heinzen wrote the first manifesto on modern terrorism in which he justified killing ruling “barbarians” as the only means to end the injustice and brutality of monarchical rule..