Household falls more dangerous than jihadists

A reality check: 4,800 Americans die each year by accidental choking, 3,400 die in fires and 30,00 die due to an accidental fall. In addition, 39,000 die accidentally by poison, 32,000 die in automobile accidents and another 41,000 die by suicide.

So how many die due to terrorism? Including the horrific date of Sept. 11, 2001, 226 Americans have died each year for the last 15 years. If you begin counting after 2001, the number plunges to 29 per year.

My point is that Islamic terrorism is far from being an existential threat to Americans. The far greater threat of terrorism is that we overreact by giving up our freedoms and values.

I hope you keep this in mind as we are bombarded by cable news’ constant coverage of terror attacks. You, or someone you love, is far more likely to die in a household fall than at the hands of a jihadist.

This story was originally published March 28, 2016 at 9:59 AM with the headline "Household falls more dangerous than jihadists."