Lady Liberty is Back

Ever since September 11th we've given up freedoms we'd previously taken advantage of, especially simple ones like visiting a national treasure. This weekend, the Statue of Liberty will reopen her doors, allowing visitors access to inside her crown to view the world from her vantage point. It has been closed to the public for nearly eight years.

USA Today reports that the decision reflects evolving attitudes toward post 9/11 anti-terrorism. In particular, a readiness to ease some of the more restrictive and costly security, and an acknowledgment that security and public convenience may not be mutually exclusive.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar seemed encouraged by these growing sentiments when he officially announced the reopening on May 8th, calling it "a new beginning, restoring confidence in the American people, in their government and in our place in the world." According to a USA Today/Gallup Poll, Americans are feeling less potential in becoming victims of terror, from 44% to 36% over the past two years.

But don't get too excited too soon. You'll still be walking barefoot through airport security lines and packing your mini shampoo in clear plastic bags for the foreseeable future. This new sense of security is thus far more psychological than physical, but we appear to be heading cautiously in the right direction. Not only has the terror threat been more clearly defined, we are now also better prepared.

The re-opening won't be a free-for-all just yet. Of the 20,000 expected visitors this weekend, about 2,500 will get inside the statue and, of that, 250 will receive first-come first-serve tickets to the top.

The long-running tradition to make the trek to the top of the nation's beloved symbol of freedom began as an accident. Its creator, Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, intended for the interior staircase to be used only by the lighthouse keeper. But when the island opened in 1886, city officials wooed tourists to take the 25-cent ferry ride to the island with a trip to the top. Hopefully countless visitors will again be able to experience the view of New York City from the eyes of Lady Liberty