A terrorist set off a bomb in New York’s subway Monday morning, and the worst thing he did was blow up his own crotch. That may be why you don’t see the cries and arguments that you usually see in the wake of terrorist attacks. There have been no loud calls for new security measures, no angry attacks on the intelligence community, no bills proposing more surveillance, no new legislation to curb immigration, and no new country we’re supposed to invade.

This relative silence doesn’t reflect a lack of vigilance, in our mind. It reflects a proper proportion of vigilance.