Today, as we remember the terrible events of the morning of September 11, 2001, the staff of Security magazine is considering how far we have come, and how far we have left to go.

More than a decade after the airplane hijackings and terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the crash of United Airlines Flight 93, Americans are still cautious about how global threats can affect us on our own soil. According to an NBC News and Wall Street Journal poll, 47 percent of Americans believe the country is less safe now than before the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The poll shows that this is a significant increase from just a year after the fall of the twin towers – in 2002, only 20 percent of Americans said the nation was less safe. Just last year, 28 percent of Americans felt the same.

Just 26 percent of Americans believe the nation is safer than before 9/11.

However, this begs the question – are we really at more risk today than before? Or is the American public simply more aware to threats encroaching on the nation?

Join the conversation in our comments section below, or on Twitter @SecurityMag. Use the hashtag #911Anniversary to share your memories, thoughts and prayers for the survivors, the victims, the first responders and their families.