America is the land of trauma. I dug a nuclear bomb shelter in my backyard when I was ten. You get paranoid with a target on your country.
All you said is true. The funny thing is how low the crime rate is in most of America, but everyone worries. I moved away from New York so my child wouldn't have to live that way, and he doesn't!
The wierd thing is, I don't feel safe in New Zealand, either, one of the safest places in the world. I don't feel safe because the people around me aren't paranoid. That makes me nervous.