I like to feel safe and I like to know that my family is safe. I would wager that you do, too. John Goekler has written a crystal clear piece in CounterPunch, The Most Dangerous Person in the World?, which highlights the risks to our lives. Some snippets:
A significant majority of Americans… list terrorism as one of their greatest fears. Like most of our media-inspired interests and worries, however, this one has little basis in reality. In actual fact, unless you’re serving in a war zone, the most dangerous person you’re ever likely to encounter – by several orders of magnitude – is the one you see in the mirror every morning.
and
The single greatest killer of Americans is the so-called “lifestyle disease”. Somewhere between half a million and a million of us get a short ride in a long hearse every year because of smoking, lousy diets, parking our bodies in front of the TV instead of operating them, and downing yet another six pack and / or tequila popper.
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, between 310,000 and 580,000 of us will commit suicide by cigarette this year. Another 260,000 to 470,000 will go in the ground due to poor diet and sedentary lifestyle. And some 85,000 of us will drink to our own departure.
After the person in the mirror, the next most dangerous individual we’re ever likely to encounter is one in a white coat. Something like 200,000 of us will experience “cessation of life” due to medical errors – botched procedures, mis-prescribed drugs and “nosocomial infections”. (The really nasty ones you get from treatment in a hospital or healthcare service unit.)
Goekler’s article is a delight to read but if you are impatient or like numbers (like me), here are the Cliff’s notes:
| Danger Source | Cause | Minimum | Maximum |
| Self | |||
| Cigarettes | 310,000 | 580,000 | |
| Poor diet/lifestyle | 260,000 | 470,000 | |
| Alcohol | 85,000 | 85,000 | |
| Suicide | 31,000 | 31,000 | |
| Sexual behavior (AIDS, hepatitus C) | 30,000 | 30,000 | |
| Illicit drug use | 20,000 | 20,000 | |
| Overdose of non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (acetaminophen or aspirin) | 7,600 | 7,600 | |
| Medical professional | |||
| Medical errors | 200,000 | 200,000 | |
| Co-worker, doorknob, stair railing, etc. | |||
| Microbial agents (flu, etc.) | 75,000 | 75,000 | |
| Miscellaneous | |||
| Toxic agents (asbestos, lead, drain cleaner, lawn chemicals, etc.) | 55,000 | 55,000 | |
| Foodborne agents | 5,200 | 5,200 | |
| Drowning | 4,000 | 4,000 | |
| Peanut allergies | 50 | 100 | |
| Automobile driver | |||
| Vehicle fatalities (more than half because people do not wear seat belts) | 42,000 | 42,000 | |
| Murderer (usually a friend or relative) | |||
| Murder | 16,000 | 16,000 | |
| Workplace | |||
| Occupational trauma | 5,500 | 5,500 | |
| Terrorists (since 2002) | |||
| Terrorism abroad | 15 | 15 | |
| Terrorism in USA | 0 | 0 |
None of us want to die prematurely and all of us want to spend our money wisely. Given what you just read, how much sense does it make to walk though an airport in your socks?
