There are lessons to be learned from 9/11, lessons that go deep into the heart of who we are. Here are those that I think are the most important:

We are beings that need others for our very survival. We must live in a world with other people, even those different from ourselves. What happens anywhere is felt everywhere.

While boundaries still exist, there is now a world community in a new and profound way. Everyone is everyone else's neighbor.

While many are deeply affected by the recession, we are still privileged. The average standard of living was unimaginable just a few generations ago. However, this wealth is unevenly distributed. While individual efforts count, much of what we have has been inherited from the efforts of others. Where and when we were born matter a great deal in the lottery of distribution.

We are privileged and privilege brings with it obligations. Those who have much are morally required to pay attention to those who have little. Social justice is an ethical imperative. How wealth is acquired and how it is distributed is a central moral and religious concern for both individuals and society.