"Like most crime, people vastly overestimate the danger of terrorism. The reality is that more Americans have died in the last 50 years drowning in toilets than have been killed by terrorists, even if you include those killed on 9/11! Terrorism will continue to be a threat over the next 10 years, and it is certainly possible that we will suffer another catastrophic attack. Far more dangerous, however, is the way in which terrorism might continue to warp our political discourse and blind policymakers to initiatives proven to save thousands of American lives a year. Such programs exist in fields as diverse as occupational safety, education, infrastructure development, environmental regulation, emergency preparedness...the list goes on and on."