It seems like the last time the nation stood united politically was in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001. While we have not experienced another terrorist attack on U.S. soil since, the memory is still strong and has been revived by the failed attempt to bring down a Detroit-bound airliner and the upcoming trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed for his role in the 9-11 attacks.

Zogby International has polled various aspects of terrorism in the past month. On some questions about terrorism, we found the same partisan differences as we do on most major issues. However, there is a good deal of agreement across party lines and the demographic groups that normally lean to the left or right about what are reasonable measures to protect ourselves against terrorism.

Read all of John Zogby’s column about public attitudes on terrorism at Forbes.com.

Paul John Zogby, terrorism

A recent and much discussed article by David Brooks exposed the view that popular opinion is turning against those of the “educated class” in ever growing number of areas – whether it is global warming, foreign policy or health care.

Recent data from our survey of 2000 American adults shows that this might be the case when it comes to terrorism as well. For one, an overwhelming majority of American adults (74%) believes that there is “too much political correctness in discussion of terrorism”. Almost 60% of adult Americans hold this view strongly, and it is a majority view among Democrats (58%), Republicans (97%) and independents (78%). In addition, 54% of adult Americans supports ethnic and religious profiling, compared to 23% who do not support it and don’t believe it could be effective. In addition, 15% who don’t support it still believe it can be effective.

A glance at what Americans think is the reason for terrorists’ attacks against the United States reveals a picture that is somewhat at odds with most of the news coverage. Thus, 33% of American adults think that the most important reason for terrorist attacks against the US is “making islam the world’s dominant religion” and 27% believe the most important reason is “resentment of western power and influence”. U.S. support for Israel comes third, at 11%, followed by death and damage caused by US military (9%), poverty (6%) and western freedoms (4%) and psychological disorders (3%).

All these are views not likely to be heard or advocated in the mainstream media, yet they appear to be held by significant number of Americans. Do you believe that there exist a popular backlash against the “educated class”? If so, which side do you fall on?

Zeljka politics, terrorism