Even now just four months after the shocking and tragic events of September 11, no one of us can help but be deeply affected still. We are disturbed, sorrowful, a little less naïve, afraid perhaps, and uncertain in so many ways. We weep along with all of America and much of the rest of the world for the many who have suffered from the terrorist attacks, from deadly mail assaults, and from war reprisal. Our prayers for a speedy resolution to the immediate hostilities have been answered, and now we hope for fundamental change in the conditions that brought us to this point and for a lasting peace.

Despite its horror, there is inspiration to be found in this tragedy. Novels by Christian existentialist author Walker Percy often feature characters numbed by modernist anomie, who come alive in their full human passion only in the face of some disastrous event, a consuming fire, perhaps, or a leveling hurricane. Our inspiration is not of this sort. It is closer to physicist Freeman Dyson's observations in his autobiography Disturbing the Universe about the development of hydrogen fusion, to which he contributed so much. Disturbance, he proposed, something that shakes one's position or comfortable ways, is troublesome and potentially dangerous, but it can also be healthy when it punctures complacency and brings outmoded or sub-optimal thinking and behavior into question.

Many Americans speak now of having been jolted from a well-worn complacency. We have been reminded that it is not enough to leave the business of safety and accountability to others, to take our good fortune and the promise of the future for granted. It is not enough to whisper to ourselves that there are others who know better how to do the job, nor is it enough to make our contribution to democratic governance at the voting booth alone. We must all find ways to be leaders in response to the challenges of the world around us.

EPFP/CLP has for some time concentrated on leadership in education and related service areas from the perspectives of managing change, leading across divided belief systems, and forging effective collaborations, among others. The events of September 11 and their aftermath have created a situation of nearly unrivalled urgency across all these perspectives.

With urgency comes opportunity. Has America indeed experienced a resurgence of spirit and rediscovered unity? Is there a way we can seize that opportunity and harness its potential? If leadership is indeed recognizing and seizing opportunity, giving meaning to that opportunity, and helping to unleash the people's creative energies to address the opportunity, then what are we to do with the opportunity before us?

What sense, indeed, shall we make of it? How are we to bring meaning to the welter of ambiguity brought about by such tragic, senseless, and shattering events? We ask ourselves, Are we at war, and who is the enemy? Is it safe to travel? What went wrong? What's coming next? What are we to do with the more sophisticated but more sober understanding of international relations we now hold? Closer to home, how can we fail to be struck by the broad parallels between religious and ethnic conflict, political oppression, and poverty overseas and that within our own borders? How can we act on this country's cherished values more truly both abroad and at home?

Perhaps our "national pastime", baseball, has some wisdom for us. Recall the story of the three umpires who were arguing about the art of calling balls and strikes. One of them says, I calls 'em as I sees 'em. The next guy says, I calls 'em as they is. The third one says, They ain't nothin' till I calls 'em.

In the world outside baseball, we look to leaders to call the balls and strikes and tell us "what they is".

The leader guides us in coming to terms with the hard questions that vex us, helps us find the opportunity and the meaning it holds for us. With that come reassurance and focus and a sense of efficacy.

And then the leader rallies us around the meaningful opportunity. There is purpose and direction, there are resources and a plan, there are aroused and engaged-empowered--people.

We have an opportunity now to begin to understand cultures and lands we may wittingly or not have dismissed before, to re-examine the premises of our foreign policies, and to reconsider the sources, reach, and effect of our national power as we struggle for new ways to lead in a very new world.

Closer to home, we have another opportunity to rededicate ourselves to unfulfilled commitments made at the birth of this nation, during and just after the Civil War, and with the promise of the Great Society and the spirit of the 1960s. Might we not now as a nation united turn to and bring these half-done projects to completion?

We can use this opportunity to be reminded in America that the bonds that unite us are far stronger than the differences that divide us.

We can remember that we need each other.

We can remember that a strong democracy calls for the best efforts of each one of us.

The spotlight shines on the role of leadership at all levels of government and in all corners of society as only in times of crisis, and its unrelenting glare illuminates us all. Sincerely,

Hunter N. Moorman
EPFP™ Director

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