Actually, America is much safer than we think  By Doyle Mcmanus
Los Angeles Times   Los Angeles Airport Police officers armed
with rifles stand guard as international travelers wait in line.
David Mcnew, Getty Images  Enlarge photo»  After the terrorist
attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the most frequently heard forecast
was: "This changes everything."  Americans would live in
constant fear of the next attack, many pundits predicted. The
desire for safety would spawn a security state that would
trample constitutional freedoms. The economy would take a long-
term hit. American life would never be the same.  Most of those
dire predictions didn't come true, of course. The U.S. economy
rebounded quickly. Civil liberties came under stress, but fears
of a surveillance state weren't realized. Fear hasn't ruled our
lives either. Since 2007, more Americans have ranked
unemployment as a bigger worry than terrorism. One reason was
that it turned out terrorism, despite our fears, wasn't really
on the rise.  Terrorism wasn't un