Airplane!

In paragraph 5 of his essay on the benefits of traditional family situations and the unavoidable evils of non-traditional family styles, Santorum compares the horrible people in atypical family situations to pilots of an airplane that only sometimes makes it to the destination, with standard households representing an airplane with a much higher rate of success. If one is in a single-parent household, for example, it is fairly likely that a child will do well. In fact, it is probable. However, Santorum argues that there is a much higher probability of a favorable outcome with a traditional family. It is obvious that everyone should choose the living situation with a higher rate of success, right? The comparison to the plane exaggerates the supposed evils of non-standard family situations by comparing a potentially (although subjectively evaluated) negative outcome in child-rearing to a fiery and bloody death in the midst of an airplane crash. By playing off a fear commonly found in citizens of an airplane-using society and a terrifying image even for those who have never flown, Santorum hyperbolizes what is likely not even a legitimate concern.