Letter: Maintain the right perspective on Iraq

Saturday, Nov. 26, 2005 | 7:22 a.m.

The media very faithfully report on a daily basis the number of troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. These casualties are an unfortunate byproduct of our assisting the armed forces of those countries while they achieve enough strength to defend themselves. Thoughtful people will realize that the lives of our volunteer troops are given for a noble and just cause ... the establishment of democratic forms of government in a region of the world where people have been under the brutal heels of dictators for hundreds of years.

What the media are not reporting is the much greater number of deaths occurring daily on the highways and streets of America. According to the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration, there is an average of one person killed every 13 minutes in traffic accidents. That's about 110 people killed every day, or 40,000-plus deaths per year. Those senseless deaths serve no noble cause, and there are no mass protests or calls for an immediate cessation of the killing.

It seems only fair that when the media report that 5 or 10 U.S. troops have been killed today fighting for freedom in Iraq, the media should also be reporting that 110 innocent civilians have been sacrificed at the traffic altar within our own borders.

It is tragic that such reporting is necessary at all, but the media should be unbiased and report both sets of statistics side-by-side so that the people can maintain the right perspective when reacting to the news of our people being killed.

C.H. Muchmore

Henderson