Columnist Benjamin Grove: A braver nation celebrated its independence

Benjamin Grove

Friday, July 5, 2002 | 4:22 a.m.

THE NATION'S capital strapped on its tightest security yet for this year's Fourth of July celebrations. And the holiday went off without a hitch, without even a vague warning that terrorists might be mulling a Washington strike on the nation's birthday.

There was no overt sign they intended to show up at all.

But if terrorists were lurking on the National Mall, casing the thousands of sweat-soaked revelers, they saw a much different nation on display than last year -- a changed, more fearful America that probably pleased them.

The irony that Americans had less independence this Independence Day did not escape those celebrating here.

On the Mall -- the grassy expanse between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial -- officers painstakingly funneled people through 24 entrances, probing every bag and cooler.

Two thousand uniformed cops, countless undercover officers and outdoor security cameras were watching. Fighter jets were on patrol high overhead.

The Mall's main Metro train station was closed to thwart bomb attempts. Chemical weapons sensors silently monitored the train system's air.

Terrorists know that since July 4 last year, America has become more restricted by tighter security -- and more bound by anxiety. We have given the government more access to our personal lives -- to our phones, our library cards, our shoes at airports.

We continue to wrestle with where to draw the line between preserving precious civil liberties and protecting ourselves.

In some ways, perhaps the terrorists have won minor victories.

But if that is all terrorists saw on Thursday in Washington and at celebrations nationwide, they missed a bigger picture.

This year's flag-waving throngs demonstrated that the threat of terrorism has made Americans more patriotic than ever -- and not just in a flag-waving kind of way.

We think more about the importance of civil liberties. We have taken more interest in government, our political leaders and their actions. As U.S. soldiers patrolled foreign locales this July 4, we appreciated more the price of freedom, and freedom from fear.

So if terrorists saw only a more fearful America in Washington last week, they missed what we saw: a braver one.

People emerged from their homes to celebrate, even though reasonable people understand that no amount of vigilant cops and security cameras can stop every determined terrorist.

Thousands of families and children flocked to the Mall, gathered together in a public place just as they were all over the nation. Little kids donned red, white and blue face paint while parents munched fried chicken. They patiently mopped perspiration from their brows in 99-degree heat.

They sang "The Star-Spangled Banner," and it sounded sweeter. They oohed and aahed over the fireworks, which exploded brighter.

In a way, the whole scene mirrored the final pages of Dr. Seuss' "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas," with terrorists in the Mean One's role.

In the end, they couldn't ruin our holiday. They only made us appreciate the true meaning of July 4 even more.