On the eve of the 14-year anniversary of 9/11 , perhaps this nation’s darkest day, the question that will be asked most frequently today is: Are we safer now than we were then?

In a word, yes, but that needs explanation. If “then” is defined as Sept. 10, 2001, obviously we are safer, because at that time 19 fanatical Muslims were hours away from boarding planes for an unprecedented attack on our soil — and Americans were basically asleep.

But — and this is the key — before 9/11, Americans, blind to a mounting threat and cloaked with a security blanket replete with holes, nevertheless felt safe. Now, Americans are aware of that threat, feel less safe even as the years slowly erode the fear, and many of the holes in our nation’s security blanket have been patched.

Here is some of what this nation has accomplished:

— Our intelligence capabilities, the key to thwarting a threat, have been sharpened. The stars in that have been the Patriot Act and programs such as the NSA that, while controversial, have been shown to work. Hundreds of plots, perhaps more, have been uncovered and defused.

— Osama bin Laden is dead, as are many others who plotted 9/11, as well as thousands more terrorists who rallied for a fanatical cause.

— This nation has succeeded in regime change in Afghanistan, a breeding ground for terrorists. That democracy plows ahead, and al-Qaida and the Taliban no longer roam there with impunity.

— It’s a lot tougher to board an airplane, the terrorists’ weapon on 9/11.

There are still holes to patch: ISIS is now the leading threat to bring terror to this land, promising to do so virtually every day. Our porous borders continue to invite terrorists. There is too much cargo entering the United States without inspection. And our nuclear plants are vulnerable.

There is no doubt that in the mix of why we have not suffered another attack is good luck. As President George Bush often said, this nation has to get it right 100 percent of the time, while the terrorists only have to succeed once.

We believe that terrorists remain as determined as ever to kill us — perhaps even more so. It is vital that Americans’ match their resolve, and if feeling less safe helps that to happen, so be it.

Fourteen years ago today this nation was fat and happy. Tomorrow we will all mourn what that brought upon us.