So far, Americans stay coolheaded

WASHINGTON

Amid confusion about the nature and the extent of the terrorist attacks on America, the US public isn't panicking.

Far from it, in fact. Most signs show that, as of now, the nation is meshing old routines and a new wariness with something approaching aplomb.

The events of Sept. 11 did generate an extraordinary sense of personal grief in Americans, say opinion analysts. Reluctance to fly remains high.

But the mystery of anthrax contamination has not yet sent a significant percentage of citizens in search of gas masks and Cipro.

The public appears less daunted than some pundits by the government's sometimes conflicting statements about the dangers of bioterrorism. For now, many accept that we're in a new era, and that Washington is responding to the unforeseen on the fly.

"People are just getting back to their daily life and getting on with it," says Karlyn Bowman, a public-opinion analyst and resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.

One note of caution: These attitudes do not necessarily reflect a sweeping era of new stoicism. They may just indicate that it takes some time for the gravity of new problems to sink in.

That's particularly true in regard to the anthrax cases. Polls show the vast majority of Americans aren't worried about personally contracting the disease. But a recent Newsweek survey found that only 48 percent believe the US has a "well-thought-out plan" to combat bioterror. Asked whether Washington was telling people all they need to know to respond to the anthrax threat, a recent New York Times/CBS survey found respondents split, with 50 percent saying "no."

"People are learning. They are absorbing a great deal of information, kind of a new world view," says Jean Johnson, a senior vice president with Public Agenda, a public-opinion research and citizen-education organization in New York.

Undoubtedly Americans are today living in a changed world. For many citizens, especially younger ones, the terror attacks and their aftermath constitute the most important news events of their lives to date.

The attacks may have simply pointed out, brutally, vulnerabilities that have long existed. But throughout the US, there is nonetheless a sense that everything, in some way, has changed.

Government leaders continue to urge citizens to return to normal activity. Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening (D) recently invited camera crews along as he waited in line at Baltimore/Washington International Airport for a flight to New York to promote a return to tourism. President Bush himself showed up at a World Series game to demonstrate that life and sports should go on.

But surely most viewers of the game were aware that a small army of security agents accompanied Bush to Yankee Stadium.

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