--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The real lesson of 9/11 that I think we…" description: "\"The real lesson of 9/11 that I think we have still to learn is that this is a world of interdependence, in which all of the challenges of environment a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/benjamin-barber-30249_borders_the-real-lesson-of-9-11-that-i-think-we_1012566.jpg" --- # The real lesson of 9/11 that I think we have still to… ![“The real lesson of 9/11 that I think we have still to learn is that this is a world of interdependence, in which all of the challenges of environment and climate change, of jobs, of disease, of war and terrorism, are cross-border problems that cannot be met one nation at a time.” quote by Benjamin Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/benjamin-barber-30249_borders_the-real-lesson-of-9-11-that-i-think-we_1012566.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/benjamin-barber-30249_borders_the-real-lesson-of-9-11-that-i-think-we_1012566.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/benjamin-barber-30249_borders_the-real-lesson-of-9-11-that-i-think-we_1012566.jpg) > “The real lesson of 9/11 that I think we have still to learn is that this is a world of interdependence, in which all of the challenges of environment and climate change, of jobs, of disease, of war and terrorism, are cross-border problems that cannot be met one nation at a time.” [Benjamin Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-barber/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The core lesson of 9/11 is that global challenges—environment, climate, jobs, disease, war—require collaborative, cross‑border solutions rather than isolated national actions. **In simple terms:** World problems need global cooperation. Key Takeaway Foster international collaboration. Themes politics environment globalization Mood urgent thoughtful Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy makers - NGOs - business leaders - citizens Key Concepts interdependence climate policy public health security economics Questions to Reflect On - How can nations prioritize shared solutions? - What mechanisms enable effective cross‑border action? A Different Perspective National interests may hinder cooperation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Borders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borders/) [Challenges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/challenges/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Climate change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate-change/) [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Interdependence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interdependence/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lessons/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Terrorism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrorism/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [9/11 was a signal that we were living in a new world - a world of interdependence, a world in which people could attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-barber/9-11-was-a-signal-that-we-were-living-in-a-new-world-a-world-of/) [Benjamin Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-barber/) > [At the same time, old confrontations have taken on frightening urgency, especially the India-Pakistan conflict over Kashmir and the violent stalemate in the Middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/at-the-same-time-old-confrontations-have-taken-on-frightening-urgency/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [in today's world no country can be absolutely independent of another. It is a world of interdependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/in-today-s-world-no-country-can-be-absolutely-independent-of-another/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [“Contrary to your beliefs, I am stronger then what you give me credit for, but the real lesson here is the knowledge to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-rowe/contrary-to-your-beliefs-i-am-stronger-then-what-you-give-me-credit/) [Nikki Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-rowe/) > [“There's been a war, he thought (picturing the charred corpses that day's newspaper had shown), but we're all supposed to just get on with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-watson/there-s-been-a-war-he-thought-picturing-the-charred-corpses-that-day/) [Douglas Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-watson/) > [The real lesson Orville (Redenbacher) taught me was the power of a good brand to trump all rhyme or reason in the marketplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-d-alessandro/the-real-lesson-orville-redenbacher-taught-me-was-the-power-of-a-good/) [David F. D'Alessandro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-d-alessandro/) > [True greatness depends on total wisdom. The real lesson is to learn to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/true-greatness-depends-on-total-wisdom-the-real-lesson-is-to-learn-to/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [I've also learned that you don't always get to pick the people with whom you travel the journey. You sometimes may think you do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-also-learned-that-you-don-t-always-get-to-pick-the-people-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Bean-counting government bureaucrats are free to take race, ethnicity and gender into account when doling out public funds to non-white-male contractors. But God help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-malkin/bean-counting-government-bureaucrats-are-free-to-take-race-ethnicity/) [Michelle Malkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-malkin/) > [We have put over £2bn in the last three years into counter-terrorism and we are developing the electronic border surveillance and identity cards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/we-have-put-over-2bn-in-the-last-three-years-into-counter-terrorism/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) > [Now let's make two things clear: ISIL is not 'Islamic.' No religion condones the killing of innocents, and the vast majority of ISIL's victims…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/now-let-s-make-two-things-clear-isil-is-not-islamic-no-religion/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Environmental degradation, overpopulation, refugees, narcotics, terrorism, world crime movements, and organized crime are worldwide problems that don't stop at a nation's borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-christopher/environmental-degradation-overpopulation-refugees-narcotics-terrorism/) [Warren Christopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-christopher/) > [In an age of interdependence, global citizenship - based on trust and sense of shared responsibility - is a crucial pillar of progress. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/in-an-age-of-interdependence-global-citizenship-based-on-trust-and/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Even as people take pride in their national independence, we know we are becoming more and more interdependent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/even-as-people-take-pride-in-their-national-independence-we-know-we/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [There is an interdependence between those who have and those who have not. The process of giving exalts the poor and humbles the rich.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-g-romney/there-is-an-interdependence-between-those-who-have-and-those-who-have/) [Marion G. Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-g-romney/) ## More by Benjamin Barber > [9/11 was a signal that we were living in a new world - a world of interdependence, a world in which people could attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-barber/9-11-was-a-signal-that-we-were-living-in-a-new-world-a-world-of/) [Benjamin Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-barber/) > [Civility is a work of the imagination, for it is through the imagination that we render others sufficiently like ourselves for them to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-barber/civility-is-a-work-of-the-imagination-for-it-is-through-the/) [Benjamin Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-barber/) > [By the laws of the land, people who come looking for jobs in America are illegal. 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But today, security and freedom, whether it's in the Arab Spring, whether it's in Iraq or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-barber/independence-used-to-be-the-ticket-for-liberty-but-today-security-and/) [Benjamin Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-barber/) > [Consumer sales depend on the habits and behaviors of consumers, and those who manipulate consumer markets cannot but address behavior and attitude. That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-barber/consumer-sales-depend-on-the-habits-and-behaviors-of-consumers-and/) [Benjamin Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-barber/) > [Having created the conditions that make markets possible, democracy must do all the things that markets undo or cannot do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-barber/having-created-the-conditions-that-make-markets-possible-democracy/) [Benjamin Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-barber/) > [The question to ask is not whether you are a success or a failure, but whether you are a learner or a nonlearner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-barber/the-question-to-ask-is-not-whether-you-are-a-success-or-a-failure-but/) [Benjamin Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-barber/) > [I divide the world into learners and non-learners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-barber/i-divide-the-world-into-learners-and-non-learners/) [Benjamin Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-barber/) > [When it comes to acid rain or oil spills or depleted fisheries or tainted groundwater or fluorocarbon propellants or radiation leaks or sexually transmitted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-barber/when-it-comes-to-acid-rain-or-oil-spills-or-depleted-fisheries-or/) [Benjamin Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-barber/) > [I don't divide the world into the weak and the strong, or the successes and failures...I divide the world into the learners and non-learners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-barber/i-don-t-divide-the-world-into-the-weak-and-the-strong-or-the/) [Benjamin Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-barber/) > [I divide the word into learners and nonlearners. There are people who learn, who are open to what happens around them, who listen, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-barber/i-divide-the-word-into-learners-and-nonlearners-there-are-people-who/) [Benjamin Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-barber/) > [Where once the student was taught that the unexamined life was not worth living, he is now taught that the profitably lived life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-barber/where-once-the-student-was-taught-that-the-unexamined-life-was-not/) [Benjamin Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-barber/) > [“I don't divide the world into the weak and the strong, or the successes and the failures, those who make it or those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-barber/i-don-t-divide-the-world-into-the-weak-and-the-strong-or-the-2/) [Benjamin Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-barber/) > [Injuries too well remembered cannot heal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-barber/injuries-too-well-remembered-cannot-heal/) [Benjamin Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-barber/) [Explore all 17 Benjamin Barber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-barber/) ## More Borders quotes > [We have to get control of our borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-coffman/we-have-to-get-control-of-our-borders/) [Mike Coffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-coffman/) > [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) > [Preemptive war is what Israel did in '67 with Arab armies on its borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/preemptive-war-is-what-israel-did-in-67-with-arab-armies-on-its/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [When I went to law school, which after all was back in the dark ages, we never looked beyond our borders for precedents. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/when-i-went-to-law-school-which-after-all-was-back-in-the-dark-ages/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [Schengen cannot survive without the most dramatic reform, and the external borders of Europe must be rapidly strengthened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-soames/schengen-cannot-survive-without-the-most-dramatic-reform-and-the/) [Nicholas Soames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-soames/) > [The troops were occasionally occupied in pursuing scattered bands going north or south, and on three occasions the large camp of Sitting Bull ventured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-a-miles/the-troops-were-occasionally-occupied-in-pursuing-scattered-bands/) [Nelson A. Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-a-miles/) > [The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. That is why I am equally fond of them all and equally horrified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-characters-in-my-novels-are-my-own-unrealized-possibilities-that/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [When we talk about contemporary art and contemporary artists, we usually imagine artists who are alive. But I feel very uncomfortable about placing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/when-we-talk-about-contemporary-art-and-contemporary-artists-we/) [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) > [Photography... unites the obvious and the unconscious at the level of the limimal - the border between what we see and what we suspect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-lorca-dicorcia/photography-unites-the-obvious-and-the-unconscious-at-the-level-of/) [Philip-Lorca diCorcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-lorca-dicorcia/) > [When you have the Chief of Staff of the Republican National Committee and the political director of the Romney campaign, and their two companies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-caddell/when-you-have-the-chief-of-staff-of-the-republican-national-committee/) [Patrick Caddell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-caddell/) > [Fifty thousand people in Mexico have been murdered. Puerto Penasco, 60 miles south of our border, just had five people and a police officer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-brewer/fifty-thousand-people-in-mexico-have-been-murdered-puerto-penasco-60/) [Jan Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-brewer/) > [The unpleasant truth is that some borders are untenable and preserving them causes conflict, not peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mearsheimer/the-unpleasant-truth-is-that-some-borders-are-untenable-and/) [John Mearsheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mearsheimer/) > [Interesting things happen along borders - transitions - not in the middle where everything is the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/interesting-things-happen-along-borders-transitions-not-in-the-middle/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [At no other time (than autumn) does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth; in a smell that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/at-no-other-time-than-autumn-does-the-earth-let-itself-be-inhaled-in/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [House Republicans want to pass a strong border security, illegal immigration bill. We want a bill. 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