Part of the problem is the general public not having the slightest clue about the actual risks of being in an air terrorism related incident. Even with 9/11 the chances of dying in a terrorism incident are incredibly small compared to so many other everyday things, including slips/falls at home, dog bites, heart disease, suicide, etc, etc...terrorism isn't even on the chart. Instead the emotionalism from 9/11 and a few other incidents is used/abused to make decisions and direct investment of tax dollars.
Then the same lack of evidence-based decision making infects the evaluation of what are the best methods to achieve the goal of safe air transport.
I'm not saying that no improvements could have been made since 2001, or that there should be "nothing done" to ward off air terrorism. But we weren't ignoring safety with the pre-9/11 procedures, nor is the post- 9/11 TSA environment necessarily doing the right or best things. It's disturbing that the public isn't questioning the TSA environment...I bet a lot more would do so if they really understood things.