'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
The United States is not the biggest terrorist target on the planet, ranking 41st on a new index tracking global terrorism trends released Wednesday that ranks 158 nations according to the severity of terrorist activity within their borders, plus the death, destruction and economic damage that accompanies it.
Though Hollywood and the news media often portray the nation as a chaotic crucible of gangsters and crime, the U.S. is more "peaceful" now than in the past two decades, says the United States Peace Index.
Those who seek the proverbial peaceful life should head to Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Minnesota or North Dakota — the "most peaceful" states in the nation, says the first-ever United States Peace Index.
"North America is the least-likely region to be involved in a terrorist attack, though this is not the general impression among many of its residents. The fatality rate in the U.S. is 19 times lower than Western Europe," institute Chairman Steve Killelea said. "Still, the level of terrorism elsewhere is too high. We're hoping the index can prompt a practical debate about the future of terrorism and some appropriate policy responses."
"It's really important to count, or we have no way of knowing if our policies help or hinder fostering peaceful communities. These studies are a method to get peace away from mere hippie kind of talk and into the hands of the mainstream," Mr. Killelea said.
