from East Valley Tribune
Front Page News
September 5, 2002
Arizonans: More Terror Likely
BY CECE TODD
TRIBUNE
With the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks approaching, most Arizonans fear the United States will be attacked again within the next year, a survey released Wednesday shows.
The poll by WestGroup Research of Phoenix also found that although 65 percent of those surveyed believe another terrorist attack is likely, just 2 percent avoided making plane reservations for Sept. 11.
Wendy Breslau, 45, of Scottsdale has a similar attitude.
“How could anyone think (Sept. 11) was an isolated act? I wouldn't
be surprised if it happened again,” Breslau said. “But I'm not
anxious about it. I'm just being realistic.”
The survey of 400 people, which has a margin of error of 5 percentage points, found the approaching anniversary of Sept. 11 is causing nearly three in four Arizonans to feel somewhat or very emotional.
That finding surprised Patricia Kempker, manager of suicide prevention services for EMPACT Suicide Prevention Center in Tempe.
“We haven't seen any of that,” Kempker said, adding that even right after Sept. 11, the center's hotline did not get any calls directly related to the terrorist attacks. “People who call in bring up things much closer to home.”
Ted Apostol, president of WestGroup, a marketing research company that has surveyed current trends since 1959, said the survey shows that while people are emotional about Sept. 11, they are continuing to go about their business.
“Arizonans are deep-feeling and courageous at the same time,” he said.
For Cindie Biar, 50, of Mesa, it's a matter of trusting in God. “I'm not particularly anxious about it because of my faith,” she said. “I think about it more when I get on a plane. But at the same time, I feel God is in control. When he decides I'm going to heaven, I'll go to heaven.”
The WestGroup survey found that about half of Arizonans feel national security actions taken by the government since Sept. 11 have been “about right,” but one-third think government reaction has restricted personal freedom.
Eleanor Eisenberg, executive director of the Arizona chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, speculated more people might have complained about restricted freedom if the survey had not been done so close to the Sept. 11 anniversary. The survey was conducted between Aug. 30 and Sept. 3.
“People were very concerned about U.S. citizens being held in jail without being charged (a few months after Sept. 11). If these questions had been asked then, I think we would have seen a blip in the survey,” Eisenberg said. “My experience is that there are a growing number of people who feel the government has overstepped boundaries and is showing an insatiable appetite for greater use of powers.”
Biar is not one of them.
“I think the government is doing the right thing,” she said. “There is still a lot that could and should be done.”
The survey showed that 20 percent of Arizonans will watch or listen to television specials on Sept. 11. Nine percent plan to be home on the day instead of vacation.
Seventy percent plan to treat Sept. 11 as a normal day.
Biar might go to a church service, but otherwise plans to spend the day
working on sewing projects with friends. The one thing she won't do: Worry
about another terrorist attack.
“I don't want to live my life in fear,” she said. “I could just as easily be killed in a car accident.”
