Do you remember where you were when John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan or
John Lennon were shot? Or when the Challenger space shuttle went
down? No doubt you'll remember where you were today as well,
when you learned that the World Trade Center in New York City was
demolished by hijacked airplanes.

I'd just arrived at the office. The story broke, and after
seeing that the news websites were hopelessly jammed, we grabbed some
radios and started listening. With reports of further hijacked
airplanes and disasters, it was apparent that this would be an
ongoing saga and not just a single event. El Presidente dismissed
everyone and I went home.

At home, after absorbing the sci-fi-esque images from television, I
was compelled to pray for the victims and their families. Laura and
I gathered the kids together in the living room; my five year old
daughter sat on my lap and I explained to her in very simple terms
what had happened. My voice broke as I prayed a simple prayer,
expressing the desperate need of this drama.

Of course it continues to unfold even as I write. I need not
elaborate on the throbbing scene of victims already dead, those
trapped and desperate, those who narrowly escaped with burns and
severe injuries; shattered families, bereft spouses and children;
entire lives that will never be the same after today.

Yet thousands of people in other parts of the world are literally
celebrating this event. In fact it is the crowning glory, the Magnum
Opus of some triumphant terrorist group.

One is sorely tempted to dismiss the terrorists and their supporters
as a wild aberration of human nature, the work of a deeply psychotic
individual. And while there is truth in this, I have a very sincere
confession of my own to make: I've entertained daydreams of
blowing things up myself. An inner violent streak, a knee-jerk
reaction to being slighted or offended that very, very few people
have ever seen. How about you? When the guy cuts you off in heavy
traffic, don't you want to retaliate too?

While there's a huge difference between thinking of it and doing
it, history and personal experience show us that such violence is
intrinsically human. We may try to shrug this off as some
unfortunate artifact of our evolutionary past, but try giving that
explanation to a six-year-old boy whose daddy isn't coming home
from work tonight.

One of the most powerful movies of our time is Schindler's List.
There's a scene in this movie where a bunch of young thugs
viciously attack a helpless old man. I remember realizing, "The
only difference between me and them is, my prejudices have been guarded
and suppressed, while theirs have been nurtured and cultivated. But
fundamentally, they're just as human as I am."

Saint Paul reduced the human problem to one single powerful,
inescapable sentence: "All have sinned and fall short of the
Glory of God."

OK, so why am I interrupting my normally chipper marketing e-zine to
talk about this grim subject?

Other than the fact that it's an immediate, riveting, attention
getting headline event (which is a good enough reason for any
marketer to deviate from his routine), the lesson here is too vivid
not to miss. I feel I'm morally obligated to call attention to
the larger lesson.

Recently I received an e-zine about `How to use the 7 deadly sins
in your marketing.' The author explained how you can activate
the
emotions of Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Covetousness and
Sloth in your customers, via your advertising. It was actually
fairly insightful, and there's no doubt that Madison Avenue has
completely mastered the exploitation of sin. But the author was
totally oblivious to the true reality of vice and virtue.

How can we say anger, envy and pride are good in ourselves and our
customers, but bad in terrorists? What's the difference?
Terrorists are customers too, for someone.

The truth is we've all got these vices, and the solution starts
with painful admission. In the next days and weeks, people
everywhere will roll up their sleeves and begin to deal with the
painful aftermath. You probably heard about hundreds of people lined
up around New York hospitals, volunteering to give blood. There will
be many stories like that, and I hope to participate in some of those
myself. But we must not forget what today's events also teach us
about the failings of human nature – and that we're all human.

J.R.R. Tolkein, author of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings,
said, "Most people think they're a body that happens to have
a soul. The truth is, we're all souls that happen to live in a
body."

Imagine the difference between those two perspectives, say, for
someone who's trapped in a burning building. One must always be
prepared.

It's a bad news / good news deal: back to St. Paul again:
"The wages of sin is death [and we saw enough death today!] but
the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ." Freedom
for the soul is free for the asking, all we have to do is admit the
failure of our humanity and our need for help.

Sincerely,

Perry

~~~

P.S.: This afternoon I received warm condolences from a couple of
friends in Germany, as well as comments from my brother in China.
I'd like to share them with you:


"We all here in Germany abhor the things happen in the last hours.
You and all Americans will have the assistance from the Europe
population.

kind regards

Uwe"
~~~

"Dear Perry,

I have heart it in the radio at first and I thought it was something
like the movie Independence Day.

It's real and I can't belive it.

I haven't the right word in my head but in my heart I have a strong
feeling of sorrow about the American Nation and all the people who
must die without sense.

I am so sorry - Hans-Juergen"

~~~

"All's fine here in Lijiang.

Got a phone call from an American friend about 10:20 p.m.
(10:20 a.m. Eastern time), telling the news and asking if he could
come watch CNN. I turned on the TV just in time to see the second
tower collapse, live.

He and 7 others arrived ... and sat in relative silence for
about two hours. No words can describe the emotions you feel - the
sadness with horror, perplexity and fear.

Now it's 3 a.m. Need some sleep but, like all of you, still
at peace knowing that the King of the Nations is so wise and good.

Bryan

"... Therefore we will not be afraid,
Though the whole earth should change,
Though the mountains should slide into the heart of the sea ..."