I don’t think a photo inspires murderers. I think they’re inspired by an ideology that’s so barbaric and backwards that it’s hard for many in the Western world to comprehend how they think.”
-George W. Bush
The President and I appear to agree on the only important conclusion a rational person can draw from the latest round of photos of Saddam that appeared in the highest circulation tabloid printed in the UK. We agree that murderers are barbarians.
Sure, it’s hard for those of us in the Western world to comprehend how murderers think. Most Westerners hold life precious. In 2000, the murder rate in the United States was 15.5 people per 100,000. Americans can expect to live 77 years, on average. In 2000, there were no accurate murder rates availablfe for Iraq. However, in 2003, the average life expectancy for Iraqis was 68 years. That’s not too bad. In the nation’s capital, the murder rate was about 45 per 100,000. That’s significantly higher than the national average. In the nation’s capitol, Washington, DC, the murder rate climbs. With a murder rate of 45.8 per 100,000 people, the home of our national politicians is the place you are most likely to be murdered in the United States.
Policy makers should be proud! Using the statistics, one could conclude that our nation’s most powerful policians live in the city with the highest rate of backwards barbarians in the entire country. Something to write home to the grandkids about, I suppose.
Another mark of pride that George W. Bush and other Washington leaders – the United States of America locks up more people per capita than any other “civilized” country in the world. I am not sure which fate is worse – being a prisioner, or being murdered. I suppose murder has more finality than virtual slavery. However, a life without almost no individual choices doesn’t appeal to me. I am not arguing against imprisoning people for crimes, but we could at least limit the offenses we jail people for. If no force or fraud has been perpetrated why should a person spend time in jail?
While I don’t necessarily think that history will look on the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship as a mistake, we have lots of things to fix here at home, and I for one am not looking to George W. Bush or his home city of Washington, D.C. for my answers. If I die with a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment, it won’t be because of anything a politician has done for me.
The Western world has lots of growing up to do.