More than two weeks after terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, many Americans say they are unable to continue as normal with their lives in the aftermath of the tragedy.
A Gallup Poll released Sept. 21 showed Americans were reporting difficulty concentrating on their daily routines and sleeping, as well as a reluctance to enter high buildings or fly on commercial airlines.
Frank Newport, Gallup Poll editor in chief and Gallup Organization vice president, said Americans’ feelings about the attacks, are unprecedented, but not unusual.
“I guess I would say it’s not surprising,” he said. “Short-term trauma will diminish at least in our survey data, and things will change, but how they will change depends on the events.”
The survey, available at www.gallup.com, is a compilation of several different studies done by various news organizations after the attacks.
“In a situation like this, we’ve been reviewing all polling to get a sense of what’s happening,” Newport said. “If we think there’s a reputable poll, we’ll include that in our summary.”
But recent information released by the Federal Aviation Administration shows 1,076 security breaches at airports across the state from 1990 to 2000.
Capital City Airport, 4100 Capital City Blvd. in DeWitt Township, received 33 violations, and other major Michigan airports, such as Detroit City Airport and Detroit Metro Airport, received 38 and 777 violations, respectively.
Although these figures may not ease Americans’ feelings about flying, some say travelers’ fears are not unreasonable.
Rehabilitation counseling professor Michael Leahy said because Americans have not experienced these events before, feelings of apprehension are not unexpected.
“I think it’s the first time that we’ve ever felt this vulnerable,” he said. “Without any previous experience in dealing with this kind of terror, I think it’s very normal for people to immediately deal with more safety needs in light of what might be happening.”
Leahy said people dealing with trauma usually feel more confident with time, but a feeling of uncertainty of what will happen next is still on many Americans’ minds.
“They should recognize that it’s very normal to have that fear and accept it is a natural consequence of the calamity, but also recognize the potential of something happening is very small and they should try to go ahead with their normal routine,” he said.
Telecommunication professor Bradley Greenberg said because many Americans saw the attacks live on television, immediate trauma from the images has stuck with many.
“Those were immediate reactions to what was a traumatizing event,” he said. “We were seeing it live, we weren’t seeing it on the 11 o’clock news. We all focused on it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
