Williamsburg, Va. ? After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, nearly half of Americans say they’re now willing to give up personal freedom and privacy to protect the country, an annual survey commissioned by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has found.

Americans also rank affordable health care and the right to education as more important to their welfare than freedom of speech, freedom of religion and other basic constitutional rights, the survey found.

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Conducted by StrategyOne, the survey canvassed 1,000 U.S. citizens across the country last month to measure their attitudes on issues related to freedom and rights.

Americans are divided on whether they should preserve their freedoms or be prepared to make compromises, Colonial Williamsburg President Colin Campbell said.

“The results are provocative,” Campbell said in a prepared statement. “Half of Americans would accept a curtailment of our basic constitutional rights.

“Americans’ views about freedoms have evolved significantly since they were debated in Williamsburg more than 200 years ago. We assume the existence of fundamental rights and focus instead on modern needs and entitlements.”

The survey found that 41 percent of those polled said Americans shouldn’t be forced to give up personal freedoms to protect the country. Forty-nine percent said they would be willing to give up some personal freedoms.

Only 6 percent of those surveyed said freedom of the press was important to themselves and their families, while 30 percent cited freedom of speech in that same category. That’s compared with 44 percent who said access to affordable health care was important; 39 percent who cited the right to education; and 38 percent who listed economic advancement.

Other findings in the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation survey:

Of those surveyed, 59 percent agreed that the Constitution should be interpreted as the Founding Fathers intended, while 36 percent said it should be reinterpreted every generation.

Sixty percent of those polled considered it appropriate to teach the Quran, the Islamic holy book, in U.S. schools to broaden students’ understanding of the world. Twenty-seven percent considered such teachings inappropriate.

In an open-ended question, 21 percent of respondents said “being a good citizen” and another 21 percent said “upholding the law” was their most fundamental responsibility as a U.S. citizen. That was followed by 8 percent who said “serve and support country,” and 7 percent who said “vote.”

The nationwide survey was conducted by telephone June 7 to 14.