TERRORISM Three years after 9/11 attacks, how have Americans changed?

Americans are focusing more on national security than the economy.
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
As the United States marks the third anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Americans are paying more attention to the rest of the world than they have in a generation. They're also more focused on this presidential race than in years past, which could portend a higher voter turnout -- especially among young people.
Virtually everybody remembers where they were and what they were doing when the airplanes hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. And about one in four Americans still worries about becoming a victim of terrorism, according to a new Associated Press-Ipsos poll. Yet they're more concerned about losing their job or not being able to pay their bills, and only half of those who worry about terrorism say it affects how they live.
Most Americans have gotten over the shock and gotten on with their lives, experts have found. In the months following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, there were high if short-term levels of stress and depression, particularly among those who lived near the attack sites. Women tended to report this more than men.
Back to normal
But with the exception of those who lost loved ones in the attacks, feelings and attitudes have returned to normal for the most part.
"It's definitely not true that 9/11 changed everything'," said Tom Smith, director of social surveys at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.
Most people no longer hesitate to fly on commercial aircraft or to visit large cities, said Smith, who studies social and psychological responses to 9/11. And though Americans feel strongly that the country must be vigilant against future attacks, this no longer means being constantly suspicious of strangers.
"I'm a little more alert, but I try not to dwell on it," said Candace Lopez, a young mother of three in Huron, Ohio. "I don't like to live afraid."
Not having had anything major happen here since then no doubt is a factor. Probably just being separated from most of the world by oceans helps Americans feel a (perhaps unjustified) sense of security.
Another reason for a return to normalcy, said Smith, is that public anger over the attacks was quickly channeled into the "war on terrorism" -- more so than into grief or fear, which was the case when John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 and many people felt shame and helplessness.
Though politicians and national security experts may debate the issue, most Americans do sense some connection between international terrorism and the war in Iraq, and therefore believe them to be related to 9/11.
No more unity
At the same time, what was a surge in national pride and popularity for President Bush has returned to more normal levels. The presidential campaign -- perhaps the most polarizing in decades -- no doubt is part of this. "For a while, it was as if the whole world was together," said Mary Galbraith, an English professor at San Diego State University.
"But that's been replaced by partisan politics."
For the first time since the Vietnam era, Americans are more interested in foreign affairs and national security than they are in the economy. There are several reasons for this, but the Sept. 11 attacks and subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are a factor.
Americans are "acutely aware of and worried about the loss of international respect for the United States, given disillusionment over Iraq," according to a recent Gallup survey, and most think this is a major problem for the United States. A large plurality believes that U.S. foreign policy should strongly take into account the interests of U.S. allies rather than be based mostly on national interests, the Pew Research Center reported last month.
A survey by the German Marshall Fund and Compagnia di San Paolo finds that most Americans want the United States and the European Union to have a closer partnership.
"It used to be when I looked at international affairs, they were truly international, but in the distance and not happening here," said Shara Greenberg, a paralegal in Manhattan. "Now it's like there's the possibility that they'll happen here."