Well that is a tad harsh but they have a lot less than they used to.

Lynn Smith-Lovin who is Professor of Sociology at Duke University has been studying this very phenonemon. When it comes to finding someone with whom you can discuss important matters Americans now have, on average, 1/3 fewer people available than they did 19 years ago (down from 3 to 2).What's more the number of people who said they had no-one which whom they can discuss things that are important to them has doubled to nearly 25% of those surveyed.

It appears that the social infrastructure of American societies outside the home is breaking down with the number of people with no close friends outside their immediate family rising from 57% to 80%. 9% of those surveyed were totally dependant on their spouse, rising from 5% 19 years ago.

Fear is a powerful tool and it has been weilded with zeal by Australia's Prime Minister and America's President for

1. gaining a strategic advantage over their political opponents
2. justifying draconian laws that erode civil liberties
3. the withdrawal of human rights for people they regard as our enemies

People, however, do not compartmentalise their fear and the collapse of social cohesion that is indicated by this study is perhaps a natural consequence of the use of fear as a tool.

Participation in social interaction outside the home is becoming the stuff of history. Most American's belong to no clubs, have no positive interaction with their neighbours and have no-one outside their immediate family that they trust. It seems like "the land of the free and the home of the brave" is becoming a myth that Americans imagine rather than live. If you are an American and you can't relate to this new reality then you are probably highly educated and white (or is that European American). This is the only group that has maintained its extra-famililial social infrastruture in spite of the climate of fear.

To the extent that the terrorists have a primary objective, then it is probably the distruction of western society. It seems that, with the assitance of Mr Bush and Mr Howard, they have made some progress in this aim. In reality most people are kind good people and it is up to every one of us to believe in the goodness of others and not buy into the fear that is the "white-ant" of our society.