Maybe the terrorists won more than we think.

Maybe they've created just enough doubt, fear and suspicion that the dark skies that rolled across our lives on Sept. 11, 2001, won't ever turn baby blue again.

I reluctantly, grudgingly if you will, came to this conclusion on my most recent trip to our nation's capital, where barricaded streets and sidewalks offered ample evidence of our new America.

Just getting to Washington is a chore these days.

Well, maybe chore is the wrong word. It's more of a hassle – at least that's the case if you're flying and wearing anything more than a smile.

Of course, flying anywhere these days is a royal pain. You sort of feel like you're standing in line at a gritty bus depot.

So you can imagine what it's like jetting to and from the seat of U.S. political power: Big Brother is watching you very closely. The security checkpoints are a step or two away from a strip search.

Now you have to think about what you're wearing to the airport, because you just may have to take it off.

In fact, when I was taking off my coat and shoes and emptying all my pockets, I started to quip that it would be easier if everyone just brought their wardrobes on a hanger and got dressed in front of security officials.

But then I saw the sign: No jokes.

So I kept my mouth closed and prayed that my tennis shoes weren't lined with any metal. As it were, with only a briefcase in hand, I was barely able to catch my 6:20 a.m. flight.

A lady behind me, with two kids in tow, was rushing to catch the same flight. I heard her apologizing to the flight crew as she hustled to make the final boarding call. "I'm sorry," she said. "I've been here since 5 o'clock!"

Most people, it seems, accept this new reality, this new way we're forced to do business in America. But I heard quite a bit of grumbling from some passengers who were taken aback by the slow, methodical processing of passengers.

One young woman, on a business trip to Phoenix, told me that she figured the early morning flight would be less of a hassle.

She was sorely disappointed.

I was more disappointed at what I saw on the ground in D.C. – sidewalks and streets that once flowed freely now closed or partially blocked to deter terrorism.

This month happened to mark the 10th anniversary of my departure from D.C., a city that I once reported on for The Washington Post.


It's still a great city, notwithstanding the many intractable problems it faces, such as the homeless sleeping in the parks in broad daylight and the prostitutes working the downtown business corridors at night. Those are typical big-city problems, which we can point to right here in Dallas.

But D.C., particularly its government offices, isn't as open and accessible as it used to be. And while that's true of other big cities, D.C. carries far more metaphorical weight.

Barricades dotting the landscape in the nation's capital provide a symbolic reminder of how much more restrictive our society has become, how much freedom – of movement, if nothing else – we've given up in three measly years. ...

And counting.

Sadly, the terrorists have made their point. They've left an indelible mark on a country that in theory champions freedom, justice and liberty for all. But practically speaking, it has narrowed the places we can walk, curtailed our freedom of speech and begun forcing us to undress at the airport.

Maybe those are small prices to pay for national security. You can certainly argue the point. Maybe we had it too good and too easy for too long, and we all took these little things for granted. That would seem to be the case.

And maybe, if we all play our hands right and somehow beat the terrorists at their own game, we'll get back to a point where entering, traversing and even exiting our nation's capital isn't such a hassle.