I don't think terrorism is all that big a deal.

[skjpm]

I'm really not frightened of terrorists. I don't think there are that many in the world. I don't think they are particularly well-equipped or led. Their destruction is spectacular, like a tornado, but they are not all that common. More people die from lack of health insurance than terrorism. More people die from botched abortions than terrorism. More people die of poverty than terrorism. I don't think terrorism should be our #1 concern. I just wanted to say that. At the same time, I think it must be horrific to be the victim of terrorism, but it's just as horrific to die from a drunk driver, or from a gun accident, or AIDS. I pray for all people who suffer. I think that focusing on terrorism as the biggest evil stops us working on more solvable problems which affect more people.

[utopian]

1. It's a red herring

to distract us from the real dangers, most notably the destruction of the environment, but many others as well. It's pure, unadulterated Goldsteinism.

[linazelle]

2. Very well said.

When you consider it in the context of the types of studies that corporatists undertake to decide whether to put defective products on the market, the lives of people lost from terror don't justify the costs we are spending for the "war." Conservatives live by this kind of thinking. Of course I suppose the benefits of perpetuating the war as a cover up for BushCo to line their pockets and to change laws or ignore laws because we are at war outweigh the costs. Major smokescreen.

[skjpm]

3. Terrorist acts are a tragedy. . .

but so are all violent deaths. Someone who is killed by a drunk driver or an unlocked gun is just as dead as someone who is beheaded on videotape.