The 9/11 Harris Poll: Are We Safe Now?
The events that unfolded ten years ago undoubtedly changed the lives of people in the United States. Its effects echoed globally and soon everyone became used to living with the threat of terror. The phrase “if you see something, say something” became the golden rule.
Within the context of this new environment, The Harris Poll surveyed 2,073 adults to look back at what happened ten years ago. The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive also focused on safety, possible terror attacks, and security after 9/11.
One-third of Americans (32%) say they are more concerned for their personal safety now than they were before September 11, 2001; one in ten (9%) are less concerned; and three in five (60%) say their level of concern is about the same. Looking back to November 2001, right after the attacks, more than two in five Americans (42%) said they were more concerned about their personal safety; just 1% said they are less concerned; and about three in five (57%) said their level of concern over their personal safety was about the same as it was before the attacks.
Hatred towards the “American way” was one reason for the attacks and ten years later, seven in ten U.S. adults (71%) believe there is more hatred towards the U.S. around the world compared to what there was before 9/11 while just one in ten (11%) say their is less hatred today. It could be for this reason that large majorities of Americans believe the U.S. will experience another attack in the next decade.
The survey respondents gave credit to the FBI (81%), the CIA (79%), former President George W. Bush (55%), and President Barack Obama (48%) for helping reduce terrorism within the U.S.
Almost everyone (95%) says they remember where they were when they heard about the events on September 11th for the first time. The events that day totally changed the lives of millions of people especially those that were left behind to look back, year after year, and continue living under the threat of terror as if it’s just another “normal day.”
Where were you on September 11, 2001?
(Photo by Dominic Rivera: 2,753 chairs in Bryant Park, New York in remembrance of the 2,753 lives lost as a result of the 9/11/01 World Trade Center attack, facing the site where the twin towers once stood.)
