You should be very afraid.
That was the overarching theme of Tuesday night’s Republican presidential candidates’ debate. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie warned that “everywhere is a target for terrorists.” Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson proclaimed that “our nation is in grave danger.” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz claimed, contrary to evidence, that America is “admitting jihadists as refugees.” Even moderator Wolf Blitzer got into the fear game, saying that “Americans are clearly more afraid today than at any time since 9/11.”
By the end of the night, it was tempting to collapse into the fetal position to await your inevitable demise at the hands of a terrorist.
The reality, however, is that domestic terror attacks are rare, and few Americans die from such attacks. According to CNN, “between 2001 and 2013, there were 3,030 people killed in domestic acts of terrorism.” That works out to about 253 deaths per year. By contrast, here are a list of ten common objects — many of which you could probably find in your own home! — that are more likely to kill you than a terrorist attack.
Swimming Pools
Between 2005–2009, there were “there were an average of 3,533 fatal unintentional drownings (non-boating related) annually in the United States,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That works out to ten deaths every day. Indeed, more U.S. children die every year in swimming pools and spas than the total number of Americans killed by domestic terror attacks in the average year. An average of 390 children aged 0–4 died in pools or spas every year between 2011 and 2013.
Cribs
Each year there are approximately 3,500 sudden unexpected infant deaths in the United States, according to the CDC. Nearly a quarter of these deaths arise from accidental suffocation in bed.
Planes
The National Transportation Safety Board found that 449 US civil aviation deaths in 2012 and 429 such deaths in 2013.
Trains
Every week in the United States, approximately 16 people were killed by a train in 2014, according to Scientific American. That works out to 832 deaths over the course of a year — more than three times the average number of annual domestic terror deaths in the United States.
Automobiles
The CDC found 33,804 motor vehicle traffic deaths in 2013, or 10.7 deaths for every 100,000 people in the United States.
Cigarettes
“Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States, including nearly 42,000 deaths resulting from secondhand smoke exposure,” according to the CDC. In total, the agency estimates that “more than 16 million Americans are living with a disease caused by smoking.”
Guns
Between 2001 and 2013, “406,496 people died by firearms on U.S. soil.” That works out to 33,874 per year, which is a much bigger number than the amount of people killed in domestic terrorist attack each year. Indeed, to put that number in perspective, that means that approximately 10 people were killed by guns in the United States during the two-and-a-half hours the GOP candidates were on stage telling us to be afraid of a much smaller threat to American safety.
Admittedly, some portion of these gun deaths were also terrorist attacks, but terrorism makes up a tiny percentage of gun murders in the United States. The most common motive for such murders, making up nearly half of all homicides, is an argument.
Beer
According to the CDC, “excessive alcohol use led to approximately 88,000 deaths and 2.5 million years of potential life lost (YPLL) each year in the United States from 2006–2010, shortening the lives of those who died by an average of 30 years.” Altogether, “excessive drinking was responsible for 1 in 10 deaths among working-age adults aged 20–64 years.”
Cops
Though fatal police shootings have existed in the United States for almost as long as our cops were armed, the issue has grown in salience in the wake of several high-profile shootings and the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement. This year alone, 385 people were shot and killed by police in just the first five months of the year — far more than were killed by domestic terrorists. It is difficult to find comprehensive data on police shootings, but the website Killed By Police lists 1145 deaths in 2015, 1108 deaths in 2014, and 769 in 2013.
The Sun
Finally, “a total of 3,442 deaths resulting from exposure to extreme heat were reported” between 1999 and 2003, according to the CDC. This included 2,239 fatalities where “the underlying cause of death was recorded as exposure to excessive heat,” in addition to 1,203 where “hyperthermia was recorded as a contributing factor.” In total, heat contributed to an average of 688 deaths each year.
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We await the day when CNN hosts a debate asking candidates to offer their solutions to heat stroke or excessive drinking, both of which are a far greater threat to American lives than domestic terrorism. In the mean time, it’s worth noting that there are two other problems which received very little attention at Tuesday’s debate, but which also present a far greater threat to American lives than domestic terror. A 2011 study in the American Journal of Public Health “attributed 176,000 deaths to racial segregation and 133,000 to individual poverty” in 2000 alone.