Since the September 11 terrorist attack, 745 Californians have been killed in the Afghan and Iraq wars (LA Times, 5/25/2014). During a slightly shorter time period (2002-2012), 24,025 Californians have been murdered — 32 times more than these combat deaths (FBI Uniform Crime Statistics).

Since 9/11, we have spent trillions of dollars on foreign wars, overall Pentagon funds, CIA, NSA, Homeland Security, etc. If even a small portion of these trillions were used to deal with the symptoms and underlying conditions that produce violence, we could create communities to alleviate and end this epidemic that afflicts us.

The real war is in our own cities and towns. What will it take to make the home front truly safe and secure?
John Marciano is a Professor Emeritus at SUNY Cortland.

A version of this article appeared in the Thursday, May 29, 2014 print edition of the Daily Nexus.

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