Dennis Prager's stupid narrowminded comment on poverty

Now let me start is off by saying that I am one that tries to build bridges not burn them. But I was listening to Dennis Prager on my local station News Talk 990am here in Philadelphia and he made a comment that I just had to call him out on.


To paraphrase, he asked why it is that poverty in places like Afghanistan leads to people taking arms and becoming terrorists while here in the United States that just does not happen. Well Mr. Prager, that’s because poverty here in the US is completely different than poverty in Afghanistan. Someone living in poverty in the United States is classified as making less than $11,000 a year and the GDP per capita is $47,500. While in Afghanistan the GDP per capita is $800. Anyone see a difference? And the argument that during the Great Depression we had horrible conditions and we still did not do it is just ludicrous when you put it in perspective. At the worst point in the Great Depression we had 25% unemployment versus Afghanistan's 40%!

Look I am not saying that this unemployment justifies becoming a terrorist. But is it so hard to understand why uneducated, low income young people can justify it in their own head after growing up in a war torn country with no chance for a sense of stability? If in America we see news stories about people losing there jobs and then killing their families and/or other people then why is it so hard to believe that some Al-Qaeda terrorist can brainwash some young kid to strap on a bomb for a few virgins and a cash payment to his family? Better yet, why couldn't Dennis Prager see this logic?