If the airlines have the ability to cancel flights because they don't feel it's safe to fly, why am I not afforded the same courtesy? What if I decide that even though my carrier is flying, I don't feel it's safe? Would I then get all my money back?

It seems there is NO accountability. They can cancel flights, keep passengers trapped for hours, rearrange schedules, take your money for a direct flight and turn it into a layover, etc. What other industry is afforded the ability to do whatever they feel like doing?
I too had a similiar experience with Delta. There was a huge snowstorm in NY/NJ. Everyone else was flying, the next day, except Delta . They refused to give me a refund, or a credit to take to another carrier. They also wouldn't pay for a hotel. 2 hours after they told me, THEY ABSOLUTELY WOULD NOT BE FLYING THAT DAY, that if other carriers wanted to take a chance with their customers' lives that was on the head of the other carriers and Delta wasn't willing to do it, Delta first flight of the day took off for NY/NJ. I WAS FURIOUS. They refused to put me on a plane out that night and I had to pay for a hotel and fly out the next morning. I paid for a direct flight, and instead got a layover in Atlanta, where there was 20 minutes between planes. They landed at one end of the airport, and my connecting flight was leaving from the other. I then proceeded to get crap from the Delta employee for not showing up sooner. I too am a peon vacation traveler, but I won't do business with Delta again.
I don't want to hear how they're bankrupt and losing money all the time. People on the boards get slammed frequently for being irresponsible with their money and filing bankruptcy, etc., so why doesn't anyone feel the same about the airlines? If you're stupid enough to offer a flight for $59 each way, of course I'm going to take it. If you can't afford to fly at those rates, DON'T OFFER THEM! It has been pointed out before that business travelers are what keep the airlines flying, so it's not like the little people of the world will make or break an airline. They don't care about us, so why should we care about them?