Look Homeward, Terrorist

Terrorists are wicked—of course. But we also think of them, in moments of moral inattention, as noble. Their very fanaticism betokens a perverted purity of heart. They maim and murder—but not for base motives.

The story that follows is about the base side of terrorism —the side that is not only violent and vicious, but sordid and mean. It concerns a group of soi-disant nationalists making their pitch to a hyphenated community in the United States. Their declared goal was the same as Gandhi’s or Garibaldi’s—to free the homeland from foreigners. In pursuit of it, they threatened, bombed, murdered—and missed, sometimes comically.

About the Author

Richard Brookhiser

Historian Richard Brookhiser is a senior editor of National Review and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute.

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Terrorists are wicked—of course. But we also think of them, in moments of moral inattention, as noble. Their very fanaticism betokens a perverted purity of heart. They maim and murder—but not for base motives.

The story that follows is about the base side of terrorism —the side that is not only violent and vicious, but sordid and mean. It concerns a group of soi-disant nationalists making their pitch to a hyphenated community in the United States. Their declared goal was the same as Gandhi’s or Garibaldi’s—to free the homeland from foreigners. In pursuit of it, they threatened, bombed, murdered—and missed, sometimes comically.