Halt Elder Abuse and Terrorism.- Top Seven Things You Can Do

MUCH OF THE TASK of fighting (elder abuse) and terrorism is done by governments, security agencies, and the military or police . But there are practical things an ordinary citizen can do to make an significant difference fighting terrorism/abuse. If you doubt it is even possible to defeat terrorism and Elder Abuse , you need to read this. But if you're ready to do something about it, here are CitizenWarrior.com's top seven ways to halt terrorism and Elder Abuse for a civilian. Each principle links to an article about it.

1. Share information with your friends. This might actually be the most useful thing you can do.

2. Be observant and report suspicious activities. First you need to learn what kinds of things you should be on the lookout for. Then you can use your eyes and ears as you go about your normal routines. If you see someone in a car looking at blueprints of a building, for example, if you see an elder making un usual financial transactions for example, or and taking photographs of a building , you can simply call 911. An officer can come out and question the person. If they are there for a legitimate, no harm was done. If they are not, it may be the beginning of shutting down a terrorist or kidnapping plot . If you know what to look for then being observant doesn't mean being paranoid. Most activities are not suspicious. But a few specific kinds of activities are. Find out what those are and keep your eyes open.

3. Choke off terrorists' source of money. Demand that Elder Abuse Laws and guidelines be enforced and Although terrorists have cells within democratic countries, they rely on financial support from terrorist-sponsoring countries. And almost all terrorists are trained in such a country. Four have been identified with certainty: Iran, Syria, Sudan, and North Korea. A company called DivestTerror.org has found a way to cut off a major source of support for those countries, which will force those governments to choose between supporting terrorism or being economically viable.

4. Steer conversations to the topic of terrorism and abuse . And then, of course, share what you know. Improve your ability to start casual conversations and gently open those conversations to the topic of terrorism and abuse. Influencing the opinions of others and sharing what you know is a vital task you can do to fight terrorism and all types of abuses. The ideas in your teammates' heads are collectively determining the fate of the free world. You can change someone's opinion, but you must first be talking about terrorism and abuse, and in such a way that you don't cause the person to shut you out.

Most people don't know any more about terrorism or elder abuse than what they see on the news, and that mostly consists of confusing, helplessness-inducing sound bites. You know things about terrorism/abuse that can help mobilize your sphere of influence to be a force for good in the world. But in order to do that, you'll need to begin conversations, and steer them, and that's a skill that takes know-how and practice.

5. Learn more about influencing people. Once you have someone in a conversation, how can you change their opinions? How can you successfully persuade them? This is also a skill you can improve with know-how and practice. In fact, your skill can win people to a new way of thinking, and your lack of skill can entrench them more solidly in their old way of thinking. Skill is all-important, and it can be greatly improved, no matter how good you are already. Just as marksmanship is a vital skill to an infantryman, and navigation skills are essential to the captain of a ship, skill with people is all-important for a citizen warrior fighting abuse.

6. When you find a good article online, share it. This is one of the easiest ways to make a difference. If you do it well, you can enhance the impact of what you share. Doing it well means being sparing in what you send (rather than sending lots of stuff indiscriminately), and giving your personal impression of the article along with a link to the article itself. And you can probably make the biggest difference by trying to match the article with the person. In other words, if your friend is a sandal-wearing peace activist, sending an article by an outspoken redneck would fail to persuade. Match the article to the person for maximum influence. Help ease her or him into a new way of seeing.

7. Help people see the URL, haltterrorism.com The domain name goes to the article you're reading now. Get a haltterrorism.com t-shirt and wear it. Add haltterrorism.com or Stop Abuse to your email signature. Print the domain address on business cards and post them on bulletin boards. Get a bumper sticker with the address on it. Not everyone is interested in terrorism or abuse , but those who are will be curious, and you've just sent them to a good resource.

It goes without saying, of course, that you'll keep learning about terrorism and abuses of the elderly and other vulnarable citizens , and you'll learn especially well anything you'd like to teach to others. Listening to an audiobook again and again in your car is an excellent way to really learn something well.

Not all books are created equal. When you find a really good one, get it in an audio format and listen to it while you drive. When you share information or perspectives with someone, you have a good opportunity to really illuminate the subject for them. If you have only a vague understanding of something you read only once, you'll find it hard to be lucid or convincing, and you'll fail to persuade. Part of persuasion is knowing what you're talking about.

You want to do something about terrorism and abuse . You want to halt the terrorists and abusers in their tracks. Excellent! Choose one of the seven ideas above — the one that appeals to you the most at the moment — and do it. On behalf of the rest of your teammates, I thank you for your good works.

"Seniors and their families need to be assured that crimes against the vulnerable will be diligently prosecuted to stem the tide of predatory exploitation of the weak."

Related articles:

In his book, Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life, Martin Seligman has a very good list of what to look for in your arguments when you're arguing against a negative thought. Read his list here.

A good list to memorize ahead of time is David Burns' ten cognitive distortions. These are the ten mistakes the brain is naturally prone to make. Find his list online at any of these four locations: UWEC, Wikipedia, JohnEmmons, or AngelFire.

Make the process of changing your thoughts easier by calming your body first. This is similar to the increased effectiveness of cognitive therapy combined with antidepressants. With the body in a better state, thought habits are easier to change.

Your brain has a naturally-occurring negative bias and when combined with an imperfect brain that makes mistakes, it is a combination terrorists and abusers can exploit. Take actions to shore up this weakness, first in yourself and then in those around you.

Edited for E.A. article by Citizen Warrior