i didn't feel afraid: I knew we'd be alright in the end.
Oddly enough, for me was kind of the opposite. Let me open with an analogy. When the colonists rebelled against England in the Revolutionary War, the redcoats came to fight on U.S. soil. Historically, they were used to fighting in Europe, where massive deforestation made battlefields very open - I suppose rather like golf courses. Their approach to troop fighting reflected that. Not much cover. When they reached the U.S., they faced colonists who were more familiar with the concept of shooting at foes from cover (e.g.: trees). Took awhile for the new rules of engagement to catch on.
Or at least I've been taught that at some point in a history class.
Cut to the late 90's/2000. The U.S. is the leading global superpower with a nuclear arsenal that could destroy human life in Earth many times over, technological superiority to the Soviets, and the Soviet Union had largely collapsed, leaving the U.S. the major post-cold war world leader. We knew there were terrorists in the world; we heard about places like Beirut & Lebanon. We knew our servicemen stationed overseas were occasionally targeted. And as in the Iran hostage drama at the close of the Carter administration, we knew Americans abroad in hotspots were at some small risk.
Or at least I've been given to understand & recall.
But nobody would mess with us on our own soil; even a 'war' with the U.S. on foreign soil would be an exercise in whether we should crush you with vastly superior military might, or nuke your crappy country into a radioactive crater. Nobody wanted a piece of that.
911 Brought terrorism to U.S. soil. You're not safe just because you stay home in the U.S. of A. We learned what foreign governments facing guerrillas long knew; a terrorist organization spread amidst a civilian population is not amenable to crushing with nukes or similar massive military annihilation. They're not like redcoats standing clustered in an open field; miss one you'll hit the one behind him? No. And while a government will not choose suicide in the pursuit of a cause, some individuals will, and with modern technology, they can do a lot more damage than a musket.
But 911 wasn't one nut job with a car bomb. It wasn't even an Oklahoma government building bombing where the killer made a
really big blast. No, this was
organized, involving a number of people, and they could strike at targets I would've guessed almost impregnable.
Cut to 2015. Like the redcoats, we've had to adapt to modern realities. When you go for your plane flight, family can't accompany you to the gate to see you off. There was already security, but not like it is now.
To sum it up, on 9-11-01, my reaction was a chilling realization that 'The Rules Have Changed.'
Richard.