Terroristic Meteorites

Ever since the presidential election of 2004, I've really had trouble with the idea that 'the terrorists still want to get us'. The Bush administration, and the Republican party in general, have made their point abundantly clear: Americans should always live in fear of terrorism, now and evermore. It is the ultimate battle between good and evil, and it will be with us indefinitely.

I don't buy it.

Oh sure, "terrorists" (and in this case we are to equate terrorism with people of middle-eastern decent or origin - but that's a whole different argument) may have designs on attacking our country again, but I don't think that it's going to be anytime soon. But, the politicians want to make you think that it could be tomorrow... or even today! Watch out!

This article makes a good point - there is way to much attention, and money, paid to terrorism when the actual threat is very low. Check it:

That [panicked and unreasonable] reaction is one measure of the contagion of alarmism. [John] Mueller's book is filled with statistics meant to put terrorism in context. For example, international terrorism annually causes the same number of deaths as drowning in bathtubs or bee stings. It would take a repeat of Sept. 11 every month of the year to make flying as dangerous as driving. Over a lifetime, the chance of being killed by a terrorist is about the same as being struck by a meteor. Mueller's conclusions: An American's risk of dying at the hands of a terrorist is microscopic. The likelihood of another Sept. 11-style attack is nearly nil because it would lack the element of surprise. America can easily absorb the damage from most conceivable attacks. And the suggestion that al Qaeda poses an existential threat to the United States is ridiculous. Mueller's statistics and conclusions are jarring only because they so starkly contradict the widely disseminated and broadly accepted image of terrorism as an urgent and all-encompassing threat. (emphasis added)

'...terrorism annually causes the same number of deaths as drowning in bathtubs or bee stings.' Unbelievable. Gee Dubya Bee would have you think that you are going to die tomorrow - from a terrorist incident.

So why is it that we continually fall for the bullshit propaganda that 'we're fighting them over there so that we don't have to fight them here'? Why is it that people still live in fear of a terrorist attack?

My guess is that the mere fact that we all remember exactly where we were and what we were doing when we heard the news from New York City has something to do with it. Whether or not you lived near one of the attacks (NYC, D.C. or Shanksville), whether or not you know someone who was directly involved - it affected you. I vividly remember watching the cable news channels all day on September 11th. I remember my wife of only two weeks telling me that I should turn off the tv - or turn to something else - because it wasn't good to keep watching the bad news over and over again. This is likely how millions of Americans spent that day - and they do NOT want to relive that experience. I don't blame them. I definitely don't want to see another day like that - here or in any other country.

However, I do not believe that living in fear is the answer. I think that most Americans simply live their lives day-to-day now, giving very little thought to a terrorist attack - particularly in their city or town. But when Tony Snow or dana Perino or one of the GOP talking heads gets in front of a camera, they cannot wait to say the word terrorists, al Qaeda, Islamic Jihadists, or the big one: 9/11.

Ugh.

Please do not misunderstand me. I hate terrorists. I hate Osama bin Laden. I hate anyone who would kill another person in the name of their beliefs or their gods. I'm merely saying that I think Americans are unnecessarily afraid of an incident that is unlikely to happen. I loathe the fact that many sympathy-challenged politicians (and pundits too) use the attacks on September 11th, 2001 (and similar events in 1993) as a crutch to continue to scare people into agreeing with their point-of-view.

Unfortunately, I don't have a solution to this quasi-dilemma. However, I would issue a challenge to ALL the candidates who run for public office (particularly the presidential candidates): make your campaign about issues that affect Americans everyday. Talk about education, health care, employment... hell, tell me how you are going to stop other countries from making toys out of f**king POISON. Since the odds are more in favor of my kid playing with "Lead Paint Barbie" than getting hit by a suicide bomber, let's discuss the former.

Thoughts?

filed in: Al Qaeda, George W. Bush, Homeland Security, Osama bin Laden, Republican, Right Wingers, Terrorismshare: