Poll Shows Americans not yet Recovered from Sept. 11 Wounds

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, September 07, 2002

Poll Shows Americans not yet Recovered from Sept. 11 Wounds

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The Americans have not recovered from the psychological wounds of last year's Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as the nation prepares to observe the anniversary of the attacks next week, according to a poll published here Friday.

The USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll shows that seven in 10 Americans say time has not healed the wounds, and one in four say they will never come to terms with the tragedy.

There is substantial doubt about the government's ability to keep people safe, according to the poll. Only 24 percent say they have a great deal of confidence in the US government to protect them from future attacks and 60 percent say terrorists "will always find a way to launch major attacks no matter what the U.S. government does." Nearly nine in 10 say terrorists associated withOsama bin Laden are living in this country.

But the fears have not brought new ways of life. An overwhelming 82 percent say they have not made permanent changes in the way they live as a result of the attacks. Two-thirds say they will not work fewer hours. But 78 percent say they will watcha memorial ceremony or service on TV, and 37 percent say they willattend one.

For many Americans, the images of that morning are too strong tohandle; 54 percent say the networks should show footage of the twin towers collapsing, but 43 percent say they should not.

The poll also shows that the approval rating of President GeorgeW. Bush is steady at 66 percent. Three-quarters of those polled say they are very or somewhat satisfied with the way things are going in the terror war. Most people say Bush has achieved the right balance between protecting civil liberties and fighting terrorism.

The poll of 1,003 adults was conducted from Monday to Wednesday.The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Sept. 11 is still having a profound effect on the American psyche for several reasons, says Robert Shapiro, a public opinion specialist and chairman of the political science department at Columbia University in New York City.

"It was an attack directly on the United States. It was a defeat rather than a victory. And the issues from the attack are still with us. We are still engaged in Afghanistan and a struggle against terrorism. There's an aftermath that still has a hold on people," he says.

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