Mitt Romney has said that jihadism is this century’s nightmare. What do you think?
February 28th, 2008 Posted in Mitt Romney
Reasons to disagree
- More people die from alcohol than terrorism. 85,000 people die each year because of alcohol Link
- 5% of all deaths from diseases of the circulatory system are attributed to alcohol.
- 15% of all deaths from diseases of the respiratory system are attributed to alcohol.
- 30% of all deaths from accidents caused by fire and flames are attributed to alcohol.
- 30% of all accidental drownings are attributed to alcohol.
- 30% of all suicides are attributed to alcohol.
- 40% of all deaths due to accidental falls are attributed to alcohol.
- 45% of all deaths in automobile accidents are attributed to alcohol.
- 60% of all homicides are attributed to alcohol.
- 100,000 deaths. That’s more than a statistic. That is 100,000 individuals with faces. 100,000 individuals with lives not fully lived. 100,000 individuals grieved by mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and children. Every year.
- An aggressive China that is willing to kill thousands of people in order to expand, would be this century’s nightmare.
Reasons to agree
- Jihadist are the only people who would use a nuclear weapon.
- A nuclear weapon would destroy men, women, children. It would destroy homes, and make property un-usable for thousands of years.
- Some of the people who die from Alcohol, are just killing themselves. Those who would be killed from a nuclear bomb, would be mostly innocent.
- There can be more than one nightmare. China could go bad, but Jihadism is more likely to.
- Jihadist could start a war with Pakistan.
- Jihadist are killing and displacing thousands in Africa.
- Jihadist have exploded transportation in the United States, Spain, and England.
- Jihadist are trying to take over Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. They are a significant force in Syria.
- Many Jihadist deny the Holocaust.
- Many Jihadist want to destroy Israel.
- There is no force on the planet, not communism or anything else, that unifies people with so much hatred as Jihadism.
February 28th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Alcohol and Jihad are most definitely nightmares of our time, but ultimately I feel the collapse of the family should also be cause for grave concern.
Kids need their moms and dads. They need structure, support, boundaries, love, and so much more. If Americans (and the rest of the world) could only focus more on raising good, respectful, contributing citizens, the world would be a better place. Period.
There would be less anger and hatred and more personal responsibility and decency. And with regard to this particular post, I think there would be far less alcohol abuse–among so many other negative products that stem so profoundly from a child’s “broken” home and family life.
Mitt was right when he said “Washington [was] broken.” I would add to it, however, that so is the most important institution ever created, more significant than any government, army, country, or otherwise. . . the ever-so-faltering American family.
At this time more than ever, parents need to step up and raise their children. We all know the next president of the United States sure won’t.
February 29th, 2008 at 1:21 am
I hate to nitpick (well, not that much
), but #2 if reasons to agree says nuclear weapons would render the land unusable for 1000’s of years. I suppose that depends an the type of weapon used, but Hiroshima and Nagasaki are both thriving cities today, barely more than 60 years later. So I’m not so sure. The effects would be devastating, to say the least.
February 29th, 2008 at 3:04 am
Hi Mike,
Mitt’s right of course!
Jihadism goes beyond the actual terrorist act, and uses fear to change the way many people live their day to day lives. And all the extra security. Look how airports have changed since 9/11…more cameras everywhere, etc.
The only thing that was vaguely similar was the fear of the USSR bomb growing up in the 1950s. People built shelters, etc. It was a scary time for a kid. It was for me anyway.
But there’s an irrationality to Jihadism that goes beyond anything we’ve known in recent history. Probably ever.
Alex
February 29th, 2008 at 6:47 am
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fallout
The show “Jericho” they were part of nuclear fallout and they had to hide indoors until it rained once and then they were fine. (dont know how much of that is true)
Ive read several recent science publications discussing that higher radiation may not be as dangerous as we thought. Also that lesser radiation (cell phone levels) may in fact be more dangerous.
This is because strong radiation destroys dna thus it gets repaired/replaced, but lesser radiation can make minor mutations in DNA which the body wouldn’t detect to need repair.
February 29th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
No more Hiroshima,
no more Nagasaki.
Some people and their families are still suffering today.
February 29th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
CH,
You are right, obviously. I had no intention of undermining the significance of the suffering of the people in those 2 cities, and appologize profusely if that is how it was interpreted. There is no question but that the kind of suffering they had to endure is not even in the realm of my comprehension, and to repeat the events would be the biggest mistake we could make. I was only pointing out (rather carelessly, perhaps) that the effects of nuclear fallout were not as long lasting as was asserted (1000 years or more). No offense intended to anyone. Thanks for bringing to my attention how my comment may have been interpreted.
February 29th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
frofreak,
I have a great respect to you and I have been enjoing your comments.
Sometimes it is hard to communicate in writting.
I am little (or more) sensitive to Japan because I am from Japan and I have visited Nagasaki before…….
Believe or not, you didn’t offend me.
February 29th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Everyone should educate themselves on Islam, its history and on the radical element. One will find that whenever Muslims gain political power all non-Muslims are second class citizens unless they convert. Often Jews and Christians are killed as part of gaining power. Sharia law is every Judeo-Christian’s, and other non-Mulsims nightmare. In fact, what is occuring is the demise of the American experiment, with its reliance on the Natural Law and Judeo-Christian, Greek Roman heritage by the influx of too, many immigrants too fast, multi-culturalism and secularism. May God have mercy on those of us who forget this great gift to the human race and who do nothing to defend it.