by Robert M. Traxler

Home-grown terrorists are a new threat to our nation; perhaps it is a good idea to ask ourselves why now and never before in our long history?

The majority of the American people are of German ancestry, toss in the Italian Americans and Americans with ancestors from other Axis countries fighting in World War II and we have huge numbers. In World War II the incidence of “home-grown terrorism” were darn near nonexistent; sure some 18,000 German and Italian sympathizers were placed in prison camps, mostly in New York and Pennsylvania. Some Americans did go to Europe and fight for the ancestral homelands of Germany and Italy, but the percentages were statistically almost nonexistent.

A much larger percentage of Japanese Americans was imprisoned, far too many, but by no means all. I could find no incidents of Japanese home-grown terrorism during World War II.

So the question we must ask is why do a larger percent of Americans from Islamic countries attack and kill innocent Americans now in the war on terror, when it was not a factor in other wars? The Cold War, our longest and most expensive conflict, saw no incidents of Russian, Cuban, Vietnamese, Chinese or any Americans coming from belligerent countries becoming home-grown American terrorists.

Our friends on the left side of the argument will say it is because Muslim immigrants are abused and suffer from bigotry and prejudice. Anti-German prejudice during World War I was so pervasive many good Americans changed their family names to hide their heritage. My wife’s family name was changed from Bosher to Busher because her great, great grandfather, a German immigrant and Civil War Veteran of 14 battles who was wounded three times in the service of his country, feared for his family’s safety. Towns and villages changed their names and German and Italian ethnic festivals were canceled for many years during and after the two World Wars. The hamburger’s name was changed to victory steak during World War II because hamburger sounded too German.

Immigrants from Islamic countries who live in the United States are predominately Christians; a Pew Research Center study tells us two of every three immigrants from Islamic countries are Christians. Persecution and the danger of radical fundamentalism in Islamic countries have driven to them to America.

Muslim immigrants tend to be better educated and have incomes better than the average American. Muslim immigrants have a high percentage of folks in high-tech jobs, resulting in higher incomes.

So, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Over? Why do we see so many Islamic “home grown terrorists” in the war on terror? A reasonable and prudent person would think that question would be at the center of a great number of studies. We see an enormous number of experts write on the subject and thousands of theories, but I cannot find a real true analytical study based in statistically driven fact and research, rather than suspicion and theory or politically correct doctrine.

The general thought is to blame the Internet; OK, we did not have the Internet during WW I or WW II or the Cold War, but it has to be deeper than the Internet. We can add radical mosques to the equation, but not all home-grown Islamic terrorists belonged to radical houses of worship.

I Googled “Profile of an Islamic terrorist in the U.S.” A dirty word profile, well a politically incorrect word anyway, but a profile of a terrorist should be step one. Could it be that the study of why, and developing a profile of who, is so politically incorrect that the good folks in the social sciences are terrified? Terrified of incurring the wrath of the politically correct police, the condemnation of the social, educational and media elite? If we can’t get a good handle on the who and the why we will never be able to prevent attacks, only count the dead afterwards.

“If you see something say something” has “evolved” into if you see something don’t say anything or you will be accused of Islamophobia and being a racist, bigoted, ignorant narrow-minded fool.

Have you driven the roads in Dorr lately?