When we experienced 9/11, it was very similar to Pearl Harbor - indeed, that was the historical reference made by pretty much everyone who commented. An essential element of that image is that it was a one-shot deal. There was never any Pearl Harbor II.
I believe the general expectation - however unrealistic it might be - is that there won't be another 9/11. Certainly people don't act like it, or we'd act differently in many ways with respect to our national and personal security.
But repeatability changes the perception of the threat dramatically. Attack #1 doesn't necessarily make people believe there will be an Attack #2. Attack #2 however will make people expect Attack #3. This is why we dropped not one but two atom bombs on Japan - to demonstrate repeatability.
In the face of repeatability I believe the self-defense instinct will break the already-weakening bonds of PC. So, God willing that neither of us ever have to pay, I will accept your one-dollar wager.
Amen to that, and you're on.
I think anything short of a truly cataclysmic attack, something like a dirty bomb, will result in the same old PC ways.
Indie, I hear ya. ;-)
MM