Terrorism a threat, but not to our way of life

For a few Australians, the war on terror has been very real. The surviving victims of terrorist attacks in New York, Bali, London and elsewhere; the families and close friends of those who have died in those attacks; the Australian Defence Force personnel who have been deployed on operations. And on the other side, those who have been drawn to the terrorists' cause, and those who have been innocently or not so innocently caught up in our response to it. But for the rest of us, the whole thing has been somewhat unreal, even surreal. Remember the Government's fridge magnets? Every household in Australia was sent one, in early 2003, 18 months after the September 11 attacks. Have you still got yours? Ours is a little dog-eared now, but still holds a prime spot on the freezer door, jostling with the cartoons, postcards, school effort certificates, and untried recipes.