How did Sept. 11 really change us?

One woman we know who uses a walker has experienced an interesting phenomenon. Since about Sept. 11, when she heads to her car with a load of groceries, almost invariably, someone steps up to help her bring her purchases to her car and load them. Before that, few people ever bothered.

She believes that we have changed since Sept. 11 and that it has been for the better. She’s not the only one. A poll conducted by the Valencia County News-Bulletin shows that 62 percent of respondants said that their outlook on life has changed.

In the terrifying days just after Sept. 11, we all worried that nothing might ever be the same. We wept, we prayed for peace, we eventually went on with our daily lives.

Have we really changed? Maybe so. Maybe we’re more likely to help one another, maybe we hold on to our families a little more tightly, maybe we are more concerned with what’s happening in the world.

But maybe we’ve slipped back into our old selfish ways, thinking more about our own comfort and needs than those of our fellow man.

Maybe flag waving was as far as we went when it came to patriotism. Maybe it was easier to put a flag on your car than it was to become an educated citizen who casts a ballot wisely after learning about the candidates, who has opinions about the world based on study rather than repeating jingoistic platitudes.

Think about if you have really changed.