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When I moved to London two months ago from the United States, I worried about the weather. Even in the summer, the city had a pervading sense of dampness. In my first week, weathermen predicted a "partly sunny day with thunderstorms and hail". Eventually, the weather no longer preoccupied my mind - like almost all Londoners, I adjusted and moved on to more important issues.
When I moved, my parents back in Pennsylvania worried about the threat of terrorism in London. I came from a country that avoided any major attack on its soil for the past six years to a city targeted three times in three summers.
But after synchronized car bombs nearly wreaked havoc in London, I was surprised that the failed attacks didn't dominate conversation. In fact, extensive flooding received as much coverage in media and political debates as the attempted car |
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| After car bombs nearly wreaked havoc, I was surprised that the failed attacks didn’t dominate conversation |
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bombings. From an outsider's perspective, Britain is fighting the war on terror by treating it like the weather. The British believe that terrorism, like lethally heavy rain, is inevitable - and so we should be ready but not reclusive. Despite a very real terrorist threat, British life continues in a fairly normal manner, denying terrorists what they seek: the opportunity to disrupt daily life.
Americans are unlikely to ever simply 'manage' or 'control' the threat of terrorism. For Americans, terrorism still means falling towers. Nonetheless, American approaches may be shifting: according to a June poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation, Americans see Iraq, healthcare, immigration, the economy, and energy as more of a concern than terrorism.
The test of whether America has matured in its approach to terrorism will come if there is another successful terrorist attack. Responding proportionately and being prepared to handle an attack like handling deadly flooding isn't about giving in to defeat - it's about triumphing over terror. 
FIRST POSTED AUGUST 20, 2007
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