Since 9/11: What has changed for us?

For the average traveler, catching a flight out of Roberts Field Airport in Redmond is still a seemingly routine process: Get rid of any beverages before going through security, keep any liquids stored in clear plastic bags — and always remove your shoes.

But before Sept. 11, 2001, none of these security measures were in place. Now, they’re the new normal, a legacy of the day many say changed America forever.

“I think it did make us change and look at life a little differently, our freedom a little differently,” one Redmond air traveler said Thursday.

Since 9/11, airport security continues to evolve. What some see as a hassle, others see as an extra layer of safety.

“A lot of people think it’s very inconvenient, this TSA thing — but I support it,” said one Redmond woman.

Some say since that day, we’ve become a paranoid country.

“I think it’s made people more fearful of other people and other countries and other cultures, and I wish that didn’t have to happen,” another traveler said.

But others think we’ve become too complacent.

“On the whole, we are more cautious than before. But I think we’ve relaxed an awful lot, and that danger is still there,” one Redmond woman said.

If anything is certain 13 years after the attacks of 9/11, it’s that the future is still uncertain.

“I think in general, people forget and go on with their day to day lives. And forgetting doesn’t get us anywhere,” said an RDM traveler.