I can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news.

Two days earlier, my car had been broken into and footage was stolen for a film I had been working on for over a year. Just when I thought this was a huge disaster, the September 11 attacks put everything into perspective.

Image: Broken car window, Lionel Allorge

That day I was driving my car and listening to the radio when the program got interrupted. At first, I thought it was a surreal radio play. George Orwell’s “The War of the World” came to my mind. But confusingly, the details didn’t match to the bits I knew about Orwell’s play.
When the immediate reality finally hit me, I was shocked and deeply horrified.
Even though the United States was far away from where I lived, the attacks got under my skin. My fear was palpable, but so was everyone else’s.
When the US seemed invincible, the September 11 attacks showed that the security we thought was solid could be reduced to rubble in a matter of minutes.

How could such a thing happen? How was it possible?
What did it mean? What did it say about us humans?
My friends and I kept asking ourselves the same questions. The world as we knew it had come to a standstill. Everyone was paralyzed.

Image: United Airlines Flight 175 crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center complex,
TheMachineStops (Robert J. Fisch), CC-BY-2.0

When we were normally busy with our lives and projects, we now got out of the way. We sat down together, prepared something to eat, and watched the news together. We needed each other. No one wanted to be alone. To bear what was going on in our world. To stay sane. And to feel connected.
A super disaster of such magnitude forced us to grow closer to each other. The shared moments of pain, loss and grief brought us together.
We stopped on the street and in supermarkets to talk, share, and offer comfort and warmth to strangers. Our lives crossed briefly.
On any given day, we would have passed each other by. This time, we didn’t. September 11 gave us common ground. We no longer felt alienated and separated from each other. We had shared values and feelings.
We were reminded of our interdependence. Of the beauty of our humanity. And of the fragility of life and the world.

Image: Dinner with friends, Robbie Shade, CC-BY-2.0

In this intense state of suspension, I felt that there was an opening for things to change. The tremendous blow we had suffered had the power to wipe away our deeply ingrained routines and bring us out of autopilot mode, give us a pause and reveal an eye-opening perspective. In the light of the event everything that had burdened our lives got exposed, and everything that proved unimportant got sorted out. We had the chance to realize that – despite the great challenges the crisis brought – opportunities presented themselves to the same degree.
Depending on how we would choose to look at it, we could – rather than addressing the immediate problems only – take a step back and look at the bigger picture. It revealed to us that we had lost touch with who we really were, and that we had become alienated from ourselves and our own humanity. That behind the false wall of security which we had erected through the limitations we knew, laid what we had actually always longed for.

But then none of what I thought possible happened.

Image: Ant mill, Clemzouzou69, CC-BY-SA-4.0

Instead, the authoritarian measures were reinforced and supported by law enforcement. In the name of national security and defense, the powers of governments were expanded – all at the expense of our civil liberties.

With the introduction of comprehensive controls, airport security was tightened all around the world and has not let up since.
For the younger generation, this is the norm. But it wasn’t that long ago that we were skipping metal detectors and taking bottles of liquid and travel knives on board.
Overall, there is an increased security presence and surveillance.

After a period of confusion and disarray – like ants confused by a broken scent trail and spinning in circles – we picked up where we left off. As if nothing had happened.
Business as usual.

Also read:
Mullah Nasruddin and the lost keys from our story collection in INSPIRATION

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Image header: Cockpit of Boeing 737, Alex Beltyukov, CC-BY-SA-3.0

9/11 attacks autopilot mode grief humanity loss pain September 11 shared moments shock