I feel 9/11 was such a big issue for Americans because
it was another "first" for our
current generations,
just as JFK's assassination in the 60's was for those generations.
Each event came at times when our society was conditioned or
accustomed to being safe over several years.
The problem of safety is that you can never be completely safe.
It's a matter of how much risk you are willing to accept and at what cost.
That's what I was trying to discuss in my
earlier thread about giving bin Laden what he wanted