IN MEMORIAM
by: Cary Christian

It's been a little over a year now, but it's fresh in my mind. Fresher still since the authorities thought they caught terrorists on the west coast of Florida today who were headed toward my city to blow up one of our buildings filled again with innocent people. Turns out it might have been a hoax, but who knows these days?

I'm a firm believer in moving on with life and taking care of business. But I also believe some events must be memorialized. Yes, the anniversary is three days past, but in my mind this is not a week for business as usual.

So rather than print an article on marketing, taxation or business strategy this week, I want to take a moment to remember those we lost one year and three days ago in the attack on The World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the crash of Flight 93 in a Pennsylvania field.

I know many of you may be fatigued of hearing about it and feeling the sorrow these memories bring, but we must never forget the infamy of that day. To forget it is to accept it and to essentially deny the responsibilities it laid on our shoulders.

Many people speak of these events as an attack on America. It was much more. It was an attack on all of humanity. Many lose track of the fact that people from all of the following countries died on September 11, 2001 in addition to those from the United States:

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Egypt, Germany, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Taiwan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

This list may not be complete or authoritative. It's actually difficult to identify all the countries affected because there are so many "missing" rather than known dead. So many people will never be found. So many families unable to bury their dead. But one fact is hard to miss: this tragedy was not just an American tragedy.

The Internet is making the world smaller every day. We work together, do joint ventures online, trade ideas, send each other jokes, give each other advice and buy from each other all the time. Rarely do we think about where we are located physically. We see each other as fellow businessmen all doing our best to succeed in our chosen fields. Most of us are simply trying to make a better life for ourselves and our families.

There is a tremendous amount of goodwill and respect among us. In many ways this is a testimonial to what life offline could be and should be. A roadmap, if you will, to learning how to live together, work together and reach across international borders to help each other.

We have a responsibility to take these attitudes and our online way of life offline and into the real world. The world could learn a lot from us, and it IS our responsibility to teach it. Each of us has influence. Perhaps we can only reach and help to change the attitudes of one or two people, but they'll pass it on and eventually the changes we initiate could encircle the globe. Let's use what influence we have to make the world a better and safer place for ourselves and our families.

And while we mourn the loss of those who died on 9/11, let's not forget the effect on the lives of their families left behind. Please take the time to read Paul Myer's article reproduced below. I think you'll be shocked at what you read and I hope it prompts you to take whatever action you can.


Copyright (c) 2002