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Invitation to a beheading


Invitation to a Beheading: It’s not just a book by Vladimir Nabokov anymore. It’s the latest craze on CNN and every other mass-media outlet.

It seems to be the newest form of so-called terrorism — one that physically pains me to hear about and think about. Not only does it make me wonder why or how anyone could resort to such an act of violence, but it invites all sorts of interesting metaphors. For instance, I’ve long heard about the three-headed hyrdra. If you cut off one of it’s heads, it just grows back. The analogy has often been used to describe the futility of attempts to resist the State. The beheadings that have become the newest fad overseas are no different. There will undoubtedly continue to be repercussions, acts of violence committed by the United States and its allies against the perpetrators, or those closely associated with them.

So what do the beheadings accomplish? They’re a means of flexing muscles, reminding us that those who feel the United States and its allies have wronged them are here and won’t disappear. They are essentially attention-grabbing techniques, but beyond that, what’s the purpose? What else are they trying to tell us? And does their invitation really alter the political landscape of the world through our eyes or theirs?

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