Re-Arranging the Priority List

(Written in December, 2001, reflecting on the New Year after 9/11.)

Assumptions can be dangerous. Still, let’s assume that on Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001 , the offices of the World Trade Center operated pretty much like the offices anywhere else in America . Workers headed to the coffee pots, some pored over Monday’s stock market performance in their Wall Street Journal, and others were already haggling with customers in different time zones on the phone. In the hallways or over the cubical dividers, there probably was the same petty gossip, idle chatter, political maneuvering, cruel scheming, paltry attempts to exclude some unbearable bore from lunch plans…you know, the general junk that is standard fare for the corporate workplace. Suddenly, 8:46 AM happened. The world brutally veered off in a different direction.

For those who perished, these insignificant office proceedings constituted their final thoughts. Most of the survivors, after their initial minutes of terror, have slowly recovered their sense of worth and being. A few made it through the tragedy, but couldn’t handle the emotional and psychological trauma of the aftermath. For all of them, the remainder of their lives will be lived from the perspective of the worst act of terrorism in history. It is a part of them.

The year of 2002, for America and the world, will be different. How much it will change may have to do with what you do, whether you’re a soldier, a flight attendant, a business exec or a factory worker, but the change in heart will go across the board. All of us have witnessed a number of positive differences already, like the rise in patriotism, the increased mention of God in public, the outpouring of charity and the willingness to help the victims. On the darker side, we see tightened security, racial profiling, a loss of personal rights and freedoms and living with the presence of terror.

As citizens, there are some lessons still emerging from 9-11. We must assume responsibility for our own safety and security. We should recognize that the real heroes are the guys down the street. We must enjoy the moments we have, and hug our kids. We must understand that at some point, free nations have to make another payment on their freedom. We must come to terms with our own mortality. And, we must remember, “Courage is fear that has said its prayers.”

One more change: We ought to know the people we live and work with. One chilling item found in the terrorists’ playbook was that they were instructed to move into a neighborhood where the people didn’t know each other very well. Anonymity became a shield behind which they could hide their evil designs. Unfortunately, this depicts far too many American neighborhoods in the twenty-first century. We’re so busy and we move around so much that we don’t have time for nosey neighbors. We have forgotten that one of the by-products of interaction among neighbors is the opportunity to feel comfortable with each other.

Neighborliness builds rapport. It also provides many intangible keys to emotional and psychological health. Since we are social creatures, we form much of our sense of worth and self-esteem by our acceptance among peers. Technological advances like email and cell phones have, in some ways, changed the way this acceptance process takes place. More significantly, it allows us to develop our relationships with people of our own choosing, not with those who happen to live in the house next door or the apartment below us. As a result, we feel no need to know people in close proximity to us because we can know far more interesting and likable people over the wires or airwaves. We can scurry past dull neighbors on our way to scintillating conversations with real friends.

The real world, however, will not allow us to ignore it for long. Events can swiftly jolt us back to face-to-face dealings with neighbors, co-workers, mail carriers, sales clerks and fellow shoppers at the supermarket. We would do well to cultivate these relationships to some degree. The more we know about the people who orbit in our universe, the better armed we will be if something goes wrong. But beyond selfish reasons, the people in our immediate world need the gospel. When we scurry, we often overlook witnessing opportunities God gives us everyday. Our priorities will be different in 2002 than they were in 2001. Will God’s value system have the upper hand in shaping them to reflect his ideals?

Let us not just be different this year. Let’s be better.