Boston was to be the target of a terrorist attack this past weekend—at least, if you believe The Boston Globe and the numerous forwarded e-mail messages making their way around campus. Some residents fled to the suburbs, or to another state entirely. A fearless few challenged fate by heading to the heart of the Hub. Though it turned out to be a false alarm, Boston’s reactions to the perceived threat illustrate the loss of innocence, and of comfort, that Americans must face after the tragedy of Sept. 11.

Friday’s Globe reported statements by Attorney General John D. Ashcroft to Massachusetts officials that the government had information that Boston might be the target for a terrorist attack last weekend. Though no specific day was mentioned, and there was no “definitive evidence of a threat,” the mere thought was a good enough excuse for many Bostonians to escape the city for a quick vacation. The next day, the Boston Herald reported that the source of the terrorist scare was a mistranslation of an Arabic-language call to Boston.

But between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, when many Boston-area residents believed that we could be the next victims, the legacy of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. was clear. Americans have lost their sense of invulnerability. No longer can we afford to ignore warnings of terrorist activities. Threats like last weekend’s—even those carried only in an e-mail forward—will be taken more seriously now than ever before. It may be an exaggeration to say that Americans now live in constant fear, but we are undoubtedly far more sensitive to terrorist threats than we were only two weeks ago.

In a way, increased vigilance will be the silver lining of this tragedy. With a previously complacent populace now more alert for security lapses, future attacks may be less likely to succeed.

But we cannot continue to live in a constant atmosphere of fear. As we return to some semblance of ordinary life, we must not succumb to the temptation to run at the first mention of a threat. We must not be afraid to fly with American Airlines or United. We must not be afraid to attend football games and rock concerts. We must not be afraid to visit New York City.

For if we are afraid, then the terrorists have already won.