Despite the geographical distance separating the Northwest from the immediate site of last year’s attacks — a distance bridged by the eye-blink technology of modern media — local citizens continue to feel emotional reverberations from that fateful day, though personal reactions differ in profound ways.

Some people express anger or frustration with the U.S. government, some hedge their optimism with caution, while others say their lives haven’t changed all that substantially. Everyone, however, has something to say.

Alice Meehan of Oak Harbor said Monday that her strong faith has allowed her to carry on in daily life, largely unaffected by the Sept. 11 attacks. “It’s changed the world, but I don’t feel my life has changed personally,” she said.

Meehan drew a distinction between folks who have a materialistic conception of life and those who take solace in a more spiritual outlook, adding that a people with materialist concerns are more susceptible to being jarred and frightened when a tragedy such as 9/11 occurs.

“My opinion is that there’s a lot of people in this world that don’t have a strong belief in God,” Meehan said. “All their hopes and dreams are centered on the material world. When that disappears, they don’t have anything to fall back on. When you trust God,” she added, “you don’t have that kind of fear.”

Meehan takes exception with those who, when contemplating the causes of 9/11, ask “Why did God let this happen?” She said such an attitude wrongly side-steps the question of human agency in acts of destruction. “We’re not puppets,” she said. “God isn’t playing solitaire here. This is our choice. God gave us free will, and we did it.”

Diamond Young of Stanwood was visiting Oak Harbor, and he certainly didn’t misunderstand the meaning of free will when responding to how the U.S. should deal with all acts of terrorism. “Level ‘em all,” he said, meaning the American military should bomb the entire Middle East region back to the Stone Age. “The whole place,” Young added.

Young’s disdain is not reserved solely for the alleged perpetrators of terrorism. He said it’s a “tragedy” that it took the tragedy of Sept. 11 to “bring everyone together.” Also, he added, the U.S. government — particularly such intelligence organizations at the FBI and CIA — is not above criticism for failing to prevent the attack. “They know stuff that’s going on, and they don’t say nothing,” he said.

Young said similar terrorist strikes are bound to happen again. “It’ll happen in time,” he argued. “They’re going to do something when this country least expects it.”

Young’s wife, Cheral Young, who served in the Army in Korea during the Gulf War, echoes her husband’s concerns that not enough is being done to prevent future terrorist events. She said she’s disappointed in the way the government has handled Sept. 11, blaming gamesmanship between intelligence organizations. “They don’t communicate with each other,” she said. “It’s so secretive.”

She said such attacks may indeed be incited by an anger over American materialism. “This country’s gotten so money hungry,” Cheral said.

The Youngs agreed that their lives have changed since 9/11. With a slumping economy, the couple have been forced to tighten their finances. Also, both Diamond and Cheral say they’ve become more cautious and apprehensive about the world — especially Cheral, who has a son currently serving in the military.

“I’m a lot more careful,” Cheral said about her everyday life. She said she believes the same is true for most Americans. “They’re more aware of what’s going on,” she said. “They’re watching out.”

Ellensburg resident Lou Hammond, who was selling hay in the Oak Harbor Safeway parking lot Monday, said he was getting ready to board a plane last year when the flight was cancelled due to the terrorist attacks. “At first, it seemed out of this world,” Hammond said. His “disbelief” turned into depression during the days to follow, and not, he said, because his flight was cancelled.

Hammond said that as a Christian, he has love for Muslims and “everybody else that loves peace, and even people who don’t.” However, he added, “I understand you can’t sit there and let non-peace loving people bring their turmoil into your life.”

Hammond, a father of two, said he watched the news constantly in the days following 9/11, though eventually he felt the need to turn the television off, if only for his won peace of mind. Over the course of this past year, he said, he has definitely been affected by the country’s economic downturn.

The attacks have also led Hammond to question certain aspects of America’s foreign policy, specifically the U.S. reliance on oil in the Middle East, which many argue has been the chief cause of conflict in that region. “I question our strong arm over there, and the way we rely on oil,” he said. “I understand that we’ve got to protect our interests over there.”

In contemplating the reasons for the attacks, Hammond said he has many feelings of ambivalence. “This country is a great country, but we’re not perfect,” he said. “There’s a lot of greed out there.”

Particularly disturbing to Hammond are the restrictions the “war on terrorism” has put on American civil liberties, such as the permitting of roving wire-taps and surveillance cameras popping up in urban centers. “It’s a big trade off,” he said. “They can put cameras up everywhere, but I like my privacy.”

He said one of the changes he’d like to see come about as a result of 9/11 is a re-orientation of U.S. foreign policy, with America taking less and less of a role playing international cop for the world. “We need to employ our troops right here,” Hammond said. “What I would like to see is a more defended nation. Homeland security is an important deal.”

In that regard, Hammond added that he’s nervous about the U.S. gearing up for war against Iraq. “It looks like there’s a mini-Armageddon coming up,” he said.