Below, I talk about ‘opening the eyes’ of the citizenry as a part of defending ourselves against terrorism. Sounds like someone’s ahead of me on this issue.
From my local paper, today’s Daily Breeze (article not online):

Locals asked to aid base security
Uncle Sam wants to enlist the help of South Bay residents in the war against terrorism.
In a move to increase security at Los Angeles Air Force Base, officials have created a program using residents as the front line of defense for the military installation in El Segundo.
Under the Eagle Eyes program, implemented at U.S. Air Force bases around the world since the 9-11 attacks, base personnel educate nearby residents to look out for possible terrorist-related activities and urge them to call in anything suspicious to the military installation via a hotline.
“Every act of terrorism given off some indicators and warnings people can see,” said Special Agent Randall Redlinger, who will oversee the Eage Eyes program at the base. “We want to engage all the Air Force resource and the community’s resources to catch those early indicators and warnings before a terrorist can strike.”

Now multiply this by a thousand, with the neighbors of power stations, hospitals, and airports all attentive and trained on what to be attentive for; add to that someone on the other end of the phone who won’t tell them they have called the wrong number and hang up, and you have the beginnings of a program that will empower the average citizen and leverage government resources without violating civil rights or risking vigilantism.
I believe that we could go further, but am confident that pretty much all parties…the NRA and the VPC…Ted Nugent and Paul McCartney…could agree on something like this.