The dying information source

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Jerry Helms
  • 60th Component Maintenance Squadron commander
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  In today's world we are inundated with information sources. We can turn on the television and have access to 24-hour news and weather. The Internet provides the same capability with the addition of search engines to provide answers to just about any question you may have.

With so many information sources available to us, have we forgotten about books?

When I watch the evening news or read the daily newspaper, I am aggravated at the lack of information. Sure, they tell us about the latest incidents in our Global War on Terrorism and the recent crisis that just reached its boiling point somewhere in the world, however my aggravation comes from the lack of background information or answering the "why" question.

Our current operations and many we have been involved with in the past several years had me asking similar "why" questions. I listened intently to the nightly news and read every word in the newspaper, but they failed to answer my questions. The Internet rendered similar results, and what I could find left me questioning the writers' sources and the entire credibility of their articles.

Where could I find a source to uncover the knowledge I sought? Sun Tzu wrote in detail of knowing your enemy. More currently, President Bush stated we are not at war against a religion, but against terrorism. So where is the line that separates our Islamic allies from the terrorists who also practice the Islamic faith?

I finally found a book which appeared and ultimately did answer most of my questions.
Bernard Lewis wrote a short book entitled "The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror," which at one time appeared on the Air Force Chief of Staff's reading list.

In his book, Lewis produced information describing how terrorists practicing Islam actually went against the basis of their religion, specifically in the use of suicide bombers. One of my questions was answered.

As well as answering many of my questions, Lewis also opened my eyes to a difference between Western and Middle Eastern cultures.

In the Western culture, specifically the United States, we are viewed as a nation with many different religions. In contrast, the Islamic Nation is viewed as a religion with many different countries. Sun Tzu said know your enemies, but I think it is just important you know your allies.

With this information, I now have a better understanding of both the terrorist enemies and our Islamic allies.

As I stated earlier, Lewis answered many of my questions, and with others, I am still searching for the answer. He also generated a few more questions.

In the information world we live in, we should not forget about all the sources available to us. Each source is usually directed toward a specific purpose whether it is current world events or tomorrow's weather, but there is a lot more information out there you will be missing if you do not include books.

I encourage everyone to read a book over the next several months to increase their knowledge of world events or a book which will provide you different leadership perspectives.

While technology has provided us with vast amounts of information, do not let books become a dying information source.