Political endgames: Could terror be "institutionalized" in a Democracy?

Paul Krugman draws criticism from the Left and Right on his observations about the politics of 9/11 here

The criticism on Krugman’s observations on the "Political rituals of 9/11" here

DITHOB: And, while the Krugman blog post sparked controversy, would it ever be time for the larger meaning of 9/11 and the endless war with terror that we face to enter the public consciousness ? Surely, the numbers killed in 9/11 stagger. But suppose, G-d forbid, just suppose despite (or because of) TSA, surveillance, Guantanamo, Bin Laden assassination, waterboarding, etc., 9/11 or worse recurs. Will the wrenching emotions of 9/11 and public ceremonies also recur, or a numbness. Will there be a call for another memorial? Or numbness. To that end, the late, brilliant author David Foster Wallace observes in his “Just Asking” short essay from the Atlantic whether, just as we accept thousands of automobile fatalities a year as the cost for America’s freedom to travel, could we accept a large number of deaths from terror as the price of living in a democracy beset by anarchic religious terrorists?  David Foster Wallace – Just Asking - here 

A dark but provocative question-- one that hopefully America will not have to engage....