How democracy is preserved

In the period immediately after Sept. 11, people were most willing to support a strong government that would set aside many basic individual rights. However, in the subsequent months, as the government did enhance public safety and no new attacks occurred, the public gradually restored its commitment to the rights-centered, democratic regime.

Two-thirds of Americans were willing to sacrifice some civil liberties to fight terrorism immediately after the 9/11 attacks, according to ABC News/Washington Post. More recently, only 4 in 10 Americans support government steps to prevent terrorism if civil liberties are violated, reported a CNN/USA Today poll.

A growing concern for civil liberties can also be seen in the percentage of Americans who have held that the government went too far in restricting civil liberties to fight terrorism, according to a Newsweek poll. Over time this percentage has remained small, but increased from 8 percent to 12 percent as America experienced no new attacks and numerous new safety measures were introduced.

When Americans were asked about 10 specific safety measures, the picture was completely consistent: While support for safety even at the cost of liberty remained high, it did fall in the six months following the attacks, as fear subsided. For example, 93 percent of Americans supported expanded under-cover activities to penetrate groups under suspicion in September 2001; in March 2002 it fell to 88 percent.

Those favoring closer monitoring of banking and credit cards fell from 8 in 10 in September 2001 to 7 in 10 in March 2002. And support for expanded camera surveillance fell from 63 percent to 58 percent during the same period, according to the Harris poll.

All in all, as far as one can rely on attitudinal data that vary according to how the question is phrased, the data support the thesis that the higher the fear, the greater the willingness to curtail liberty to protect safety. As the government's response seemed effective, fear subsided and support for democracy began to increase again.

The fact that support for strong antiterrorist measures remains high reflects the fact that most of the data were collected within six months of the attack and under frequent warnings about imminent attacks and new threats. The thesis would lead one to expect that if the panic subsides some more, the proportion of those supporting a curtailment of rights will further decline.

This may seem obvious, but it surely is not so obvious to those who hold that democracy is lost by introducing new safety measures that entail some curtailment of rights. These safety measures are core elements of what protects the public and reassures it.

• Amitai Etzioni is a University Professor at George Washington University and author of 'The Limits of Privacy' (Basic Books, 1999).

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