9/8/2003

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Many Americans are not ready to bury their fears of terrorism and still remain willing to trade civil liberties for safety and security since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, a Michigan State University national survey has found.

Forty-three percent of Americans surveyed earlier this year favor preserving freedoms above all else, compared to 54 percent in the months immediately following the attacks.

"We believe that the willingness of Americans to make such concessions of civil liberties a year and a half after the attacks underscores a fundamental change in popular beliefs," said Darren Davis, co-principal investigator of the survey and an MSU professor of political science.

The nationwide survey, the second of three waves, was sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation and the MSU College of Social Science.

MSU's Office for Survey Research administered the survey, which contacted 1,963 individuals by telephone between Jan. 31 and May 28, 2003, and had a margin of error of +/-2.3 percent. More than 220 of those interviews were conducted in Spanish.

A panel of 679 individuals was interviewed in both the first and second waves. The first survey took place between November 2001 and January 2002.

Comparing the panel responses from 2001 to 2003, the investigators found:

• Eighty-five percent said they are concerned that another terrorist attack will occur in America in the next few months, the same percentage as in 2001.
• Americans are very or somewhat concerned that the area in which they live might suffer another terrorist attack in the next three months, an increase of 3 percent from 2001.
• More respondents (53 percent versus 42 percent) are very or somewhat concerned about being in stadiums or crowds; but fewer are concerned about flying in an airplane (47 percent versus 52 percent) or opening mail (19 percent versus 33 percent).
• Almost half said they trust the federal government "always" or "most of the time" (49 percent versus 47 percent); and almost 19 percent fewer feel that way about law enforcement agencies (63 percent versus 82 percent).

While Americans are still willing to trade some trade civil liberties for safety and security, when probed about specific sacrifices, respondents either did not change their views or changed them toward greater support for freedom. For example, 10 percent more supported the right of a high school teacher to criticize America's antiterrorism policy.

"While on specific trade-offs a majority of Americans tend to choose civil liberties over security, a majority has also accepted the general idea of giving up some of their own rights and liberties to fight terrorism," said Brian Silver, co-principal investigator and an MSU professor of political science. "This is significant in light of freedoms that Americans acknowledge giving up via the U.S. Patriot Act."

For the full report, visit www.ippsr.msu.edu

The Institute for Public Policy and Social Research's Office for Survey Research (OSR) was established in 1989 to produce rigorous survey research on pressing public policy and scientific issues. Housed within MSU's College of Social Science, OSR offers its expertise and capacities to policy decision-makers and researchers in the public and private sectors.