David Spates "Therefore I Am" Published March 12, 2002

What's a terrorist victim's life worth?

Thousands of families were shattered on Sept. 11, but I'm not sure it's your and my responsibility to compensate them for their losses. So whose responsibility is it? If it were my wife or daughter or parent killed, I'd want someone to pay through the nose. Ideally, the nose would be Osama's and payment would be rung up in a small room with Joe Pesci's Tommy DeVito character tallying the bill, if you know what I mean.

But with Osama not being immediately available, the victims' families have to settle for money. The question is who should pay.

On Thursday, the federal government announced final rules regarding payment to the families.

The boiled-down version is that if a victim's family accepts the government's offer, which averages about $1.85 million tax-free, the family cannot sue the airlines involved. The government is hoping to avoid a major financial collapse in the airline industry. Such a collapse could spell further problems for the country's economy as a whole, an economy that's just now starting to see some glimmer of upward movement. Our economy depends on air travel for everything from package delivery to business trips. If the airlines take a hit, it would hurt us all.

That's the rub, and I'm thinking what you're probably thinking. Pandora's Box. A can of worms. No-win scenario. Pick a cliché. Any cliché. They all fit.

When we talk about government money, we should keep in mind that the government doesn't make any money. The government has my money. It has your money. The government doesn't make money, it spends it.

That being said, the government has no obligation to offer money to victims. The offer is an effort to keep the airlines afloat, and the money is a helping hand to the victims' families.

We should also remember that charitable organizations collected approximately $2 billion for Sept. 11 victims. That money also came from you, me and our neighbors. You and I gave it freely because we wanted to help.

What I want to know, and this may make me seem like a heartless jerk for writing, is what makes the Sept. 11 victims any different from other victims of terrorism? What about the 12 Americans who were killed when the U.S. Embassy in Kenya was bombed in 1998? What about the six people killed when a bomb exploded under the World Trade Center way back in 1993? For that matter, what about the 168 people who died in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing? Thirteen students and one teacher were killed when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shot up Columbine High School in 1999 -- are those victims any less important?

You see where I'm going with this.

I don't begrudge any of these victims' families getting a big fat check from the government. As inept and inefficient as the federal government is, compensating terrorism victims is probably one of the most effective and justified uses of taxpayer funds I can imagine. There seems to be a lack of consistency, though, and that's where the big can of worms comes in.

Inconsistency gets on my nerves, yet I know life is not fair. I don't expect it to be. People who spend their days bellyaching the phrase, "That's not fair!" should be muzzled. So if the government is going to take the stance that Sept. 11 victims get $1.85 million and other terrorism victims get nothing, that seems odd. Is it simply because the airlines must be saved? Well, that's our elected leaders' call to make, and -- right or wrong -- they're going to be held accountable for their decision.

Is it fair? No. The entire situation is full of unfairness. If life were fair, no one would have been killed in the World Trade Center. Or Kenya. Or Oklahoma City. Or Columbine High. Fair is the last thing any of this is.

Do I have a better solution? Can I suggest a course of action that would treat every terrorism victim's family equally, spare the airlines and at the same time limit taxpayer expense? No. I'm not that smart. I'm not sure there is a a perfect solution. When innocent people die, there is no panacea to make it all better.

I know addressing these weighty issues contradicts my recent column about putting the tragedy behind us and enjoying our lives again, but I suppose it's not that simple for the victims' families. It's different for us, the detached majority.

What's a human life worth and who should write the check? It's a good question. It's also a bad question.

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David Spates is a Knoxville resident and Crossville Chronicle contributor whose column is published each Tuesday. He can be reached at davespates@chartertn.net.