If you are unaware of what terministic screens are, stop what you're doing and continue reading this article.

Terministic screens are among one of the many concepts studied primarily by English majors such as myself, yet impact the society that both you and I live in. Before I dive head first into what I think is a contemporary issue that needs addressing in relation to terministic screens, let me give a quick background on what terministic screens are, and which man, or gal, in history was responsible for their creation.

Have you ever noticed that when a child is learning new words, they begin associating that word with almost every object that holds some similarity to the word? If they learn the word 'cat', that word will now become a symbol for all animals, especially to a very young child.

As an adult, you will most likely look at a picture of a water buffalo and know it's not a cat, but to that young child, that water buffalo is just as much of a cat as an actual cat. I know this seems a bit confusing now but bear with me because you'll feel smart sharing your new knowledge on terministic screens with your friends next Friday night. According to the genius behind terministic screens, American literary theorist Kenneth Burke, "reality resides in the symbol system we use". What exactly does this mean? What symbols?

*brain explodes*

I hope you got your scattered brain back together because I am about to give you the best and simplest definition of terministic screens. A terministic screen is a metaphorical screen or lens through which individuals acknowledge a pre-existing language system, which consequently impacts, and influences that individuals perception of the world. In other words, there is a "screen" between reality, and what one thinks is a reality.

These screens are determined based on the individual's background and of course by media; after all, the media is no stranger in skewing our view of the world. With this in mind, let me transition into the contemporary issue I am actually here to discuss-the terministic screens here in the West (aka the USA), which cause for a complete misunderstanding and phobia of all Muslims.

I will be the first to admit that the United States has not had a great streak when it comes to understanding outside religions and cultures. We are quick to judge, and quick to stereotype, especially when it comes to everyone associated with the Muslim faith.

Ever since 9/11, anti-muslim hate has increased by five times as much as it was before the horrid event, yet there is no real logic for this, other than the terministic screens that have been imposed by the media, and more recently, by Donald Trump himself.

The anti-muslim rhetoric which has been prominent in the recent years, especially after multiple terror attacks by ISIS, has prompted for the notion that all Muslims are terrorists. When every other news headline reads, "Suspect in terror attack Muslim," that causes for the term Muslim to be indistinctly related to terrorism, even when there are millions of Muslims who are not associated with terror organizations. In recent studies, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, has documented a correlation between the number of Muslim hate crimes and president Trump, especially after Trump addresses the topic of Muslim immigration.

With president Trump using words of hate against Muslims, and the media bringing attention to those words, a matter of collective blame begins to unfold. The lens in which we have begun seeing Muslims is fogged up by anti-muslim rhetoric, and that rhetoric is what leads to violent consequences. The majority of white Americans have been so screwed by the language used in media and by the president, that they begin to associate every Muslim to be a terrorist; something we could all agree is completely inaccurate.

As stated by the CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad, "Not only have anti-Muslim bias incidents continued to increase, but a greater percentage of these instances have been violent in nature, targeting American children, youth and families who are Muslim or perceived to be Muslim". Its amazing the amount of control that words have on an entire society.

Kenneth Burke brought into this world the idea that the language and symbols used in our daily lives have the strength to completely alter our perception of the world, with those pesky terministic screens being built upon countless contemporary issues such as the one I have discussed above.

This is why we, as university students, should care about terministic screens. We are truly the future of our nation, and we cannot let our decisions be scewed by these lenses. When listening to the news, or reading up on today's issues on Twitter, it is vital we not get caught, and enticed by manipulative rhetoric. Use your own judgment in how you view the world, do not let yourself become boxed in by terministic screens, for eventually you will end up a prisoner inside your own reality.