So, What Have We Learned?

We all can recall with stunning clarity where we were on September 11^th. It will be forever seared into our memory, mind and heart. I was standing in line at my favorite coffee shop on my way to the office. I watched the TV in the corner in disbelief as my phone rang. My then-spouse was home recovering from surgery. She said, “If the world is coming to an end, I want you home.” Indeed no one really knew what was going on. After watching the replay on TV for the umpteenth time, I turned the TV off and listened to NPR. I didn’t need to see it one more time. 

At the time I was writing a weekly column for our local newspaper. My first article after September 11^th mused on how we might make a non-violent response to this disaster, among other things. The letters to the editor were scathing. I received hate mail, threats to burn down my house, threats to my person and was called every name in the book. The police made regular trips past my house and office for several weeks until things settled down. I would write the same article today, maybe even more forcefully.

The lessons from twenty-two years ago reinforce the truth that an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth leaves the whole world hungry and blind. We have learned to be fearful of those who are different from us. We have fallen prey to paranoia and see enemies everywhere. We have all become profilers when it comes to looking at Middle Eastern people. We have learned, once again, that might makes right and the divisions among nations have grown deeper and more vitriolic. We learned to take off our shoes at the airport and not carry more than three ounces of any one liquid. I had to throw away a full tube of toothpaste and a $25.00 lipstick for failing to follow the rules. To be truthful I was a little cranky about it. My niece worked for TSA and the verbal abuse she took from people was disgusting.

There are other lessons, though, that are heartening and restore faith in human nature. First responders were extraordinary in their response and their commitment to save people. Medical personnel worked round the clock to provide services to the injured. Nearby churches opened their doors for weary first responders to sleep. Restaurants gave away food; there were heartfelt kindnesses shared with strangers. As we witnessed the worst of what humans can do to each other, we also witnessed the best. We learned that people can be decent and kind and good, even when their hearts and spirits are broken.

None of us will ever forget September 11^th, and that is good. Let us, however, choose to remember the deeds of kindness and acts of heroism. Let us sing the songs of the unsung heroes and remember all the ways the best of human nature was on full display. Let that challenge the fearmongering and suspiciousness that invades us like a virus. Let us remember that we could have followed a path of love through the horrible days in the aftermath of September 11^th. It’s not too late to follow that path now. Remember the words of Romans 12:21: “Do not overcome evil with evil, but overcome evil with Good.”