INFORMATIVE SPEECH

Terrorism

Terrorism destroys those who practice it. As they try to extinguish life in others. The

life within them dies.

9/11 September 11, 2001; Fatalities: 2,993; Injuries: 8,900

Today, terrorism is associated with warlike activities that violate human and civil rights.

The United States has been at the head of the anti-terrorist movement after 9/11

disaster. It has taken a burdensome mission to lead the global anti-terrorist movement,

with the enemy invisible, hidden, and unpredictable. This mission gave birth to many

mistakes and distorted the idea of a noble peacemaking mission. Civilian populations in

Iraque and Afghanistan got involved; no progress was made against terrorism as the evil

of the 21st century. Notorious violations of civil and human rights in Iraque ended in

many protests, especially in the Muslim world.

Terrorism is the plaque of the 21st century. Global mass media terrorize populations

with the reports of shocking terrorist attacks. But the roots of terrorism remain

untouched. Yet, terrorism may be viewed from the three perspectives. Terrorists defend

their civil and human rights, they fight against injustice and discrimination. This is their

story that must be heard. Victims suffer physically and psychologically from terrorist

activities. They experience pressure, instability, danger, and unsafety. For them,

terrorists are criminals that deliberately take away human lives. The public opinion

depends on the attitude to either terrorists or victims. In the Muslim world terrorists

may be treated as victims. In the rest of the world terrorists are considered to be

criminals whose acts of severe violence must be punished.

Terrorism is an asymmetric form of conflict because it always divides all the participants

involved. It is a strategy and tactic, a duty and a crime, a reaction to oppression and an

inexcusable abomination. Terrorism attracts public attention by committing severe acts

of violence in public places and endangering lives of lots of people. It is savage-like and

inhuman, for it values neither the life of a freedom fighter nor the life of a victim who is

killed or badly injured only because he or she happened to be in the target place.

Terrorists kill to obtain public exposure.

The United States has defined the anti-terrorist priority measures. They include

chemical plant security, transit security, terrorism risk insurance, disaster response,

nuclear waste, and drinking water safety. It is hard to curb terrorism for several reasons.

First, terrorists are well organized and have a strong network which is tied by fanatic

faith in their cause. Second, terrorists are unseen. They are scattered all over the world,

arranging terrorist attacks in unpredictable places. Third, terrorists are outrageous and

resolute, fearless and stubborn to give their lives for their cause. Fourth, terrorists have

support of the civilians who are on their side.

Terrorism is our nightmare, unseen danger that may cost us our life. Terrorism is a

criminal act, since no fight for justice can be justified by murders of innocent people.

Without extricating the roots of terrorism, our governments will never achieve positive

results. Terrorism is a response to oppression, poverty, and discrimination. When

human rights are universally respected, terrorism will not have a justifiable soil under

its feet. Cultivate love, not hate in your heart. Try to understand what drives terrorists.
Remember, terrorism is like a love triangle: it is different form a terrorist's, victim's or

public opinion's perspectives.

PERSUASIVE SPEECH

Juveniles include delinquents, state offenders, and dependent/neglected children. Only

delinquents commit acts that are defined as criminal for an adult. Criminal elements

may use delinquents in the crimes for which an adult would be sentenced to death. A

capital crime is not an excuse for not being tried as an adult. A youngster who is capable

of taking a life once may be tempted to do it again, after serving a sentence in a juvenile

prison. Everything depends on the seriousness of the crime. Juvenile places of detention

are overcrowded. So, some juveniles may have a traumatic experience, housed in adult

jails. Here, criminogenic influences may ruin any hopes of a positive transformation.

Delinquency cases amount to about 1, 5 millions annually. More than half of them are

property crimes. In 1994, 12, 000 delinquency cases were moved to adult criminal court

by a process of certification after a transfer hearing. A disposition hearing may sentence

up to 20 percent of delinquents to imprisonment.

Only six percent of juvenile crimes are violent. About a third of all juvenile arrests for

homicide occur in Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, and New York. Most juvenile crimes

are gang-related. Are you ready to label a teenager a life-long criminal? Is it just to

blame this person for unfavorable living conditions and unlucky circumstances that led

to a criminal act?
Adolescents and adults must be treated differently. First, juveniles are less responsible

for their acts than adults. Second, they are less protective. Third, juveniles' courts should

not be modeled on the adult criminal system. Fourth, juvenile gangs are different from

adult gangs. The threat of juvenile crime leads to more emphasis on punishment than on

juveniles' rights. First, rehabilitation has poor results. Second, organized delinquency is

a real threat to metropolitan areas. Third, repeated crimes are committed. Juvenile

courts defend juvenile rights.

They do not hold juveniles to the standards of accountability similar to those of adults.

Juvenile courts give a priority to treatment, not detention. They call for the social

environment that nurtures delinquency being effectively changed. Juvenile courts'

primary mission is to serve the best interests of children.

Unless preventive interventions are taken to involve juveniles in positive human

activities, juvenile delinquents will be doomed to face justice as adults.