I think part of the reason why you weren't understood is that you're mixing up several issues. There's the issue of relative risk. There's the issue of personal awareness of one's environment. There's the issue of our government's actions and inactions. Lumping them all in a discussion of whether one is "safe" invites misunderstanding.
I see that now. I was only using the 9/11 phrase we've heard for days, "How Safe Are We?" because it was what struck the lightbulb in my head that here our Government is promising us we can be safe, when no Government has that sort of power to keep every single person in the US from all harm. Granted, they were probably only talking about safe from terrorism, but I was struck by the word "safe" and found it to be one of those meaningless words that The Tyranny Of Words describes, and Ashton loves to explain. That's when it hit me that we can never truly be safe, only safer, and usually by our own design, not by relying on others. Sorry for the confusion.
I don't think that 9/11 or Katrina made most of us change our thinking about personal safety too much.
It made me change mine, in a sense. It made me realize how UNSAFE we were in some cases, and how just relying on the Government was not the answer, and I'm proud to state that I coped fairly well with the blackout in St. Louis because I was prepared up to a point. And the things I learned that I was unprepared about, I've since remedied when possible. :)
Something else that you might want to look into is some [link|http://electrical.hardwarestore.com/13-41-night-lights/moon-light-5-1-2--620668.aspx|Moon Lights] - they're battery operated, and you won't need to remember to have a flashlight with you.
I'll check it out, thanks!
Brenda