Brooks, D. “The Culture of Martyrdom: How Suicide Bombing became not Just a Means but an End.” Pearson Custom Library: English Mercury Reader. Ed. Kathleen, S. Cain, Janice Neuleib, and Stephen Ruffus. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2012. 80-86. Print.
David Brooks uses the Israel-Palestinian context not only to trace the increase in suicide bombings in the recent past but also profile the suicide bomber mentality and examine the culture that supports these individuals. According to the article, the culture of indoctrination, addiction to revenge and martyrdom glorification are to blame for facilitating a paradigm shift, whereby suicide bombing is no longer viewed as a means but rather as an end.
The culture of indoctrination, according to Brook, has motivated the zeal of well-educated Palestinians to offer themselves as suicide bombers, willing and ready to do anything to further the Palestinian cause. The consequent motivation arising from the indoctrination of these bombers, it seems, is not so much laced with religious fanaticism as previously thought, but by exposure to intense spiritual training, reinforcement of the need to take revenge, and reassurance of the many rewards bombers can expect in the afterlife.
Consequently, addiction to take revenge against the perceived enemies is a direct consequence of the intense indoctrination intended to cultivate dogmatic loyalty to the objectives of a particular terrorist group.
Martyrdom glorification has been shown to be at an all-time high in Palestine, as parents and other social institutions take pride in suicide bombers for making the ultimate sacrifice to progress their cause. Television networks air videotapes of martyrs as they vow how they will find solace in eliminating Israelis and Westerners, while the bombers’ parents often join in televised interviews to demonstrate their happiness and gratification in their sons and daughters for taking the war to the Israelis.
Overall, the common perception among most Palestinians is that suicide bombings can act as an end to the wrongdoings and humiliations progressed by Israel; however, it may also be that the culture of suicide bombing has affected the wide Palestinian culture to the point whereby many people in the society have become obsessed with raw hatred targeted at Israelis and Westerners. To address the problem, Israel need not make concessions to the demands of terrorists but rather come up with ways and strategies intended to address the passions that feed these attacks.