Reflections on 9/11, Twenty-one Years Later

These were my remarks to students during assembly on 9/11/2022: 

You may have noticed our flags are at half mast today. Twenty one years ago today, we were horrified to watch planes fly into the World Trade Center and into the Pentagon, and a fourth plane crash in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 were killed, the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil in our history. We remember all those who died that day. We also continued to pray for the family members who still feel their loss today. 

I was just 1 when our president, John F. Kennedy was assassinated,  22 when the space shuttle Columbia blew up, and 39 on 9/11/2021 when we were attacked. For people who lived through it—and I think your teachers will agree with me—it’s the worst public event we’ve witnessed in our lifetimes.

There have been a lot of articles written about the lasting impact on 9/11 and the toll it’s taken on the United States, even beyond those killed that day. Among other things, we’ve fought two wars, in Afghanistan and Iraq, with many lives lost and billions of dollars spent. 

But I would argue the longest lasting impact is we’ve lost a lot of trust in each other. You can see that in airport security check points. You can see that in the millions of security cams we’ve put everywhere. Schools are required to have them—we have 35 of them.  In homes: “Ring” Doorbells for front doors, hidden cams in our homes. Cities have web cams everywhere. Cars have them on their dashboards. You can scarcely do anything without being recorded. 

And because of this felt loss of privacy, Americans have tried to counter by protecting their privacy, turning “inward.”  Just look at our neighborhoods. If you were flying over the typical middle class neighborhood today, and comparing to 21 years ago, you’d notice two striking differences: privacy fences, and the proportion of house size (huge) to lawn size (small). We don’t go outside as much, and we’ve separated ourselves from our neighbors.

Our smart phones have contributed to this. One of the great ironies of our time is despite the fact these phones give us almost unlimited potential to connect with each other, in fact they more often than not separate us. We look down, and not out. When I walk in the morning, I often pass 7 teenagers waiting for the bus, standing next to each other. What are they typically doing? All on the phone! Of course!  But it isn’t just teenagers. It’s adults, too. I was at a restaurant recently, and there was a family two tables over—a grandmother, a mom and dad, and 2 teens—and they were ALL on their phones, even grandmother!

People ask me, from time to time, why we have a “no cell phone during school hours” policy. It’s precisely for this reason. We want you to look up! We want you to notice each other, to talk with each other, to turn outward, not inward. The joy is in the interactions. The joy is in the friendships. That’s why I was so happy last week with our club fair, when so many of you were signing up for clubs to join this year. Dive in to these clubs, and you’ll build real friendships here. I know it’s awkward, and little bit scary to join something new, but it’s a risk worth taking. 

Let us continue to pray for the families of the victims of 9/11. But let us also pray for ourselves, that we will look up, that we will trust ourselves to each other, and that we will forge lasting friendships that will bring joy to our lives.