This "poisonous meme" has been a part of most Messianic religions for thousands of years. Islam has a long history of violent expansionism. Europe had it throughout the middle ages, and it still survives in a muted form amongst present-day fundamentalists. Social conditions bring it out in unexpected ways and places.

This Luddism doesn't always manifest itself as anti-technology, as the clever use of modern technology by modern day domestic evangelists and foreign terrorists testifies. It is a symptom, not a cause of our problems. Recognizing this is not an attempt to excuse crimes, any more than recognizing that those who were abused are more likely to become abusers. The crimes must still be punished, and prevented, but the situation is always more complex than "we're good, they're bad, end of discussion".

Resistance to modernity is not just limited to terrorists and fanatics. The distrust of science and technology in the West, as well as some of its social consequences, good and bad, is pretty obvious. Even those who consume modern products enthusiastically are often proud to proclaim their lack of understanding of how they work. We also have enormous social problems resulting from cultural breakdown and community decay, the decline of families, and general social dislocation which cannot be blamed on external enemies or the laziness and venality of the victims.

We live in an age of possibilities, but for most, they never seem to materialize. The fact remains, the modern world is more comfortable for some individuals and some cultures than it is for others, and those who feel left out will strike out.