Indeed, it gets pretty tricky to think of something that fails to pass that hurdle. Swimming pools: worse than terrorism. Check. Driving: worse than terrorism

Indeed, it gets pretty tricky to think of something that fails to pass that hurdle. Swimming pools: worse than terrorism. Check. Driving: worse than terrorism. Check. The common cold: worse than terrorism. Check. Sitting at a desk for 40 hours a week: worse than terrorism. Check. Terrorism is a useful cudgel for tyranny because it hits the convenient sweet spot of high profile incidents to rally around, nationalist xenophobia, and maximally invading the civil liberties of otherwise thoughtful citizens.