A less innocent US moves on

Two years ago a bolt of terrorism lifted the United States off its underpinnings and dropped it facing a new direction.

It's true that today most Americans don't feel personally endangered in the aftermath of Sept. 11. A relative few have stockpiled duct tape and plastic sheeting. Remembrances of the worst attacks ever on the continental US are fewer and more muted than last year. Time has rewritten shock and grief into elegy.

But the physical effects of the attacks can be seen in every air terminal and port in the country. The budget of the new Department of Homeland Security is $38 billion, and rising. Terrorism and the US response have introduced a powerful new narrative into the national culture. There is - obviously - a big difference now in how the US government conducts itself in the world.

For many, the most profound change may be a lingering feeling that something yet more may occur, somewhere within US boundaries. The blows of Sept. 11 perhaps pierced Americans' bubble of denial - or innocence - about their relative isolation from the furies of the world.

"We can't fool ourselves any longer that we're not vulnerable," says Charles Figley, a Florida State University social work professor who is studying the effects of the terrorist attacks.

Last year, the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon provided the US an opportunity to stop and mourn events that were still vivid in memory. President Bush, for instance, traveled with first lady Laura Bush to both sites, plus the field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where a hijacked jetliner crashed after passengers attempted to regain control.

This year, plans called for Bush to attend memorial services but stay in Washington, closer to home. The more subdued schedule reflected a number of concerns, among them the continued fighting in Iraq.

The generally lower-key observances in the US this year do not reflect a judgment that the attacks weren't as pivotal as they seemed at the time. To the contrary, a just-released Ipsos US Express poll found that the number of Americans who believe Sept. 11 changed the world forever has actually increased in the past 12 months, from 74 to 82 percent.

But a growing sense of import does not necessarily translate into personal concern. A year of national alerts jumping from yellow to orange and back again, and vague warnings about a possible strike, possibly somewhere, has generally affected those who live in Washington or other obvious target areas the most.

A new Christian Science Monitor/TIPP poll finds that 78 percent of respondents feel at least somewhat safe from a terrorist act on US soil. For all the publicity about worried Americans jamming Home Depot, few have followed government suggestions for physical preparation. Seventy-six percent have taken no steps, such as setting aside food, to protect themselves or their families.

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