Paranoid Humanoid?

So living in NYC, I can honestly say that terrorism is an issue that on my mind literally every day. While living in St. Louis or South Florida, the issue (comparatively) hardly ever crossed my mind, but in NYC my mood is obviously different. And when I speak with friends or colleagues, I can tell that I am not the only one who thinks about the possibility of an attack on a daily basis.

I realize/hope that my fear of being the victim of a terrorist attack is irrational, but lately I’m beginning to wonder if my fear really is that... silly and paranoid. It’s not so much a few isolated bombings that I fear, as much as it is the possibility of a larger-scale nuclear terrorist-attack on NYC.

There has been much in the news lately about NYC installing radiation sensors along all major bridges and tunnels, and now NYC has again stepped up its efforts to further protect us against the supposed nuclear threat.

As a rational person, I recognize that the threat of a successful nuclear strike against NYC is very, very small. There are many reasons for this assumption, which I am too lazy/busy to type. However, these reasons all essentially boil down to the facts that (1.) there are more porous cities around the world where an attack would be easier to pull off yet would retain a similar effect on the world economy/psyche and (2.) that all terrorist attacks against the U.S. have thus far been ragtag, especially compared to the planning and execution that a nuclear strike would require.

…which leads me to wonder why there is such large amount of time and resources dedicated to detecting radioactive materials in NYC. Is it because there is an actual threat, or is this just a typical post 9-11 freak-out? Does the government want us to feel/be safer, or feel/be more scared? Were these measures implemented due to credible intelligence, or due to the lobbying efforts of a paranoid NYC?