A FEW WEEKS AFTER THE SEPTEMBER 11 attacks in the United States, I was talking to my friend Jamal Gabobe in a cafe in Seattle. We were trying to understand the implications of these attacks for ordinary people in the United States. Jamal is a black East African born in Somaliland, and grew up in the Middle East. And he's Muslim. He has a broad world perspective. Still, his most pointed remark was domestic.
"Just like that!" Jamal said. "The public dialogue has shifted. For the last 50 years in the US, we have been talking about race and equal rights. Our primary focus has been on African-Americans. Now, however, we are starting a new conversation. And the spotlight is on Arabs and Muslims."
What was Jamal talking about? Within a society, as with individuals, most of our work is devoted to accomplishing tasks—activities that are practical in nature. To succeed, we need to be more efficient, more precise, more energetic. We need to be "self-starters," and we also need to be "team players." The tasks themselves are assumed to be of value, because we have been assured by our employers, our supervisors, or our clients that accomplishing these tasks will lead directly to what are, without doubt, valuable objectives.
