DAVID WATERS Tragedies remind us of what truly matters

There's nothing like tragedy to make comedy out of the normal run of news.
In the weeks before 9/11 we were obsessing about Congressman Gary Condit's love life and wondering how long President Bush would be on vacation.
In the weeks before Hurricane Katrina, we were obsessing about Pat Robertson's latest stupid remark and wondering how long President Bush would be on vacation.
Just days ago here in Memphis, Tenn., we were on the verge of fighting the battle of Forrest Park -- a silly skirmish over the name of a little park hardly anyone ever uses.
Who knows what local silliness folks in New Orleans or along the Mississippi Gulf Coast were engaged in before the storm.
We know it doesn't matter now.
We know what does matter now. The same things that truly mattered after 9/11.
Then
When those firefighters and police officers rushed into those burning towers, they didn't ask whose lives they were trying to save.
They didn't ask if the people trapped in the Twin Towers were Red or Blue.
Black or white.
Christian or Muslim.
Evangelical or mainline.
Gay or straight.
Pro-war or anti-war.
Pro-Israel or pro-Palestine.
Fox or CNN.
They didn't think about whom they might be saving. They just went up the stairs into the fire.
"More firefighters died in that incident than have ever died in any single incident in the history of the world," Rev. Daniel Matthews, a former Memphis priest and rector of Trinity Church, Wall Street, three blocks from ground zero, said after 9/11.
"And every one of them died knowing full well that his purpose was to go in and save somebody else."
Now
Last week, as search and rescue workers rushed in to save lives along the Gulf Coast, we were reminded once again of what really matters.
Food, water, clothing, shelter.
Freedom from want and fear.
Personal security. Peace of mind.
Life.
We humans easily lose perspective, especially here in the land of the free and the home of 24/7/365 media.
When planes are landing safely and winds are blowing gently, we start acting like bored teenagers who can't find anything constructive to do. We start checking or picking on each other. Or we watch or listen to Bill O'Reilly or Al Franken, Pat Robertson or Al Sharpton and let them or other media bullies do it for us.
When tragedy strikes, we snap out of it. We regain our bearings as others are losing theirs. Except for the occasional looters and losers, we band together, cooperate and collaborate, and do what we can to help each other through the crisis.
Regardless of the other person's religious or political affiliation, sexual orientation, racial or ethnic heritage.
Ironically, during a crisis the people who reach out to us, sacrifice so much for us and save us are the same people we fight with and fuss about.
During a real crisis there are only two groups of people: those who need help and those who give it.
Scripps Howard