Is ISIS Due to A Civic Engagement Problem

For the past few years, one the of scariest phenomena on earth has been the development and growth of the Islamic State, known as ISIS, ISIL, and Daesh.  This article will not recount the gruesome things members of that group is doing in the name of religion and nation building.  Needless to say, they are so horrific that numerous Islamic organizations have begun to refer to the organization as Un-Islamic in order to distance themselves from the Islamic State.

One of the most unique and puzzling phenomenon have been the number of Westerners who have voluntarily moved to lands controlled by the Islamic State. In passing by the major cable news networks over the past few years, I have seen no shortage of news articles and talking heads covering this question: why would an average American, European, or Australian leave the comforts of the west to join a fight that has a likelihood of leading to death.  

The news reports constantly report on Islamic State recruits and participants lamenting the immorality and licentiousness of the west. It appears as if they feel lost in the west and are moving to Islamic State lands for a sense of belonging.

An article in Change Magazine refers to "the threat of a 'Citizensless Democracy," recounting ten indicators of America's "Anemic Civic Health." The indicators mentioned in that article are: 

1. In 2007, the US ranked 139th of 172 democracies in voter participation.
2. Only 10 percent of citizens contacted a public official in 2009–10.
3. Only 24 percent of graduating high school seniors scored at the proficient or advanced level in civics in 2010, fewer than in 2006 or in 1998.
4. Less than one-half of 12th graders reported studying international topics as part of a civics education.
5. Half of the states no longer require civics education for high school graduation.
6. Among 14,000 college seniors surveyed in 2006 and 2007, the average score on a civic literacy exam was just over 50 percent, an “F.”
7. Opportunities to develop civic skills in high school through community service, school government, or service clubs are disproportionately available to wealthier students.
8. Just over one-third of college faculty surveyed in 2007 strongly agreed that their campus actively promotes awareness of US or global social, political, and economic issues.
9. A similar percentage (35.8 percent) of college students surveyed strongly agreed that faculty publicly advocate the need for students to become active and involved citizens.
10. Only one-third of college students surveyed strongly agreed that their college education resulted in increased civic capacities.

I believe I have read articles that similarly describe declining civic health throughout Europe, and other western democracies.  

The terminology of "citizenless democracy" says it all.  We are creating a society where individuals are in theory members of a free society, but in practice, they don't care about their freedom or society.

In The Politics, Aristotle wrote "Hence it is evident that the state is a creation of nature, and that man is by nature a political animal. And he who by nature and not by mere accident is without a state, is either a bad man or above humanity; he is like the '"Tribeless, lawless, hearthless one,' "

These words of Aristotle indicate that it is an essential part of nature to want to cling to a society. The Islamic State is offering potential recruits with the "opportunity" to join a group that stands for something, to be part of a group.

When I was growing up in the Chicago area, I remember that there was a high school not far from where I lived where 85-95 percent of male teen there joined street gangs. Those gangs provided their members with protection and a sense of belonging not available in society in general. That particular neighborhood had a huge rate of single mothers and other problems that made the average youth feel disaffiliated from society as a whole and thus join a street gang to belong.

I hope psychologists and sociologists are studying the similarities of those individuals who join gangs and those individuals who join the Islamic State. I believe there are similarities, namely the feeling that mainstream society is not protecting them nor providing them something with which to belong.

If I am right, then the key to defeating the Islamic State may very well be for the West to stand for something, to show that being part of western society means being part of something grander and more meaningful than the moral and intellectual poverty of the Islamic State.