Paul Vallely: A change in social psyche

COMMENT

In the immediate aftermath of September 11 our shocked world fell quiet.

In London, the Tube was eerily deserted, theatres and cinemas were empty. In New York, people stopped tooting their car horns and were less self-focused and aggressive.

This is what death does. It causes us to suspend the pointless urgencies of daily life and confront a reality of a different order.

Usually this is an intensely personal experience, and the rest of the world goes unfeelingly about its business. But when death comes to so many, a change comes to the social psyche.

For a while a new gentleness was in the air. Our shared shock brought a shared need to think of others. The heart-breaking answering machine messages - in which those about to die wanted to say "I love you" to someone - underscored this.

The rest of us made resolutions to spend more time with our families. There was a lot of talk about a more mature, humane and less macho society.

For a few, things did change. Some of those who lost relatives on September 11 went to meet the families of innocent Afghans killed in the West's "war on terrorism"; others turned up in Iraq to show support for George W. Bush's invasion.

But most of us have slipped back. Just as on an international level, America has reverted to a Wild West view of global politics and environmental issues, so our collective psyche has hardened, too.

We are not seeing any more of our spouses and children. About 55 per cent of British workers say that job stress "makes them bad-tempered and irritable at home". Others complain of sleepless nights.

Cellphones and laptops are raising stress levels rather than reducing them. Last week's National Work-Life Balance Week in Britain got off to an unhappy start when a business lobby poured cold water on the idea. When a Cabinet minister cited family reasons for resigning, everyone looked for a more sinister explanation.

Such impulses have spread from the family and workplace to wider social changes. Race relations have deteriorated, with new levels of hostility being displayed towards Muslims, in particular.

The new xenophobia against asylum-seekers spreads fear and suspicion.

In cataclysmic moments such as September 11 huge existential realities tear through the anaesthetised rhythms of our daily life. The great spiritual traditions of the world insist that we must allow such moments to transform us.

Most of us, after a cathartic discharge of emotions, just go back to life as it was before. Anniversaries like today should remind us of the need to peer beyond.

- INDEPENDENT