The world we live in today can often resemble the world we lived in before.

To prove that is the case, no one needs to look farther than the unfortunate situation that occurs just off the East African coast, where a nefarious trade like piracy is once again a subject for concern.

When anyone thinks of piracy these days, a fifth of Captain Morgan’s or Johnny Depp’s odd impersonation of Keith Richards swashbuckling comes to mind. The very knowledge of someone venturing on the high seas has stirred up mostly romantic impressions of seafaring adventurers wearing eye patches, wielding rapiers and plundering booty.

In reality, the lives of pirates are not for a happy lot, let alone fraught with anything romantic.

These modern-day pirates can be loosely assimilated into how terrorists conduct their business. Both use the element of surprise, both stem from areas of great political and economic upheaval, and both use a lot of the Soviet-made weapons that are in massive quantities across the world, as well as any other weapons that permeate the nether regions of the black market/criminal world.

They both have little fear in completing the objective before themselves, and can pose a terrible threat if there is not enough vigilance in handling them.

And since there is little distinction between terrorists and pirates in the post-9/11 era, the logical next move would be to prosecute captured pirates as terrorists, as it would be an effective method of curtailing the trade as much as possible.

With the economic collapse of most of East Africa and a rich sea route off their very own coastline, how could these ruthless pirates not be in the least bit tempted to dip their hands into some criminal activities? The sad truth is that some of these pirates were more than likely involved in the self-perpetuating corruption and lawlessness that has been rife in Somalia for some time now.

But what may be the most difficult thing for Americans to accept is that the commandeering of these vessels is the result of the growing divide between the Third World and the Western world.

When the deck is stacked against the country they are from, they logically do whatever is necessary, even if it means taking from the very deck they are faced against. While it isn’t right no matter the reason, Americans must understand that there is a reason for everything.

Steps to fix this problem must be taken, and Americans should educate themselves about these situations in order to one day help those in need outside this country. Donating food, clothing, books or other essential items would greatly help the less fortunate and those who are on the borderline between honest and dishonest living.

Pirating should be discouraged at all costs.

E-mail the author: David G. Peterson