All of that is just great, of course, but my mind really is elsewhere. Like you, I'm sure, I've had a hard time concentrating on the Bluetooth-vs.-802.11 and WCDMA-vs.-CDMA2000 debates over the past few weeks. The issues are still there, to be sure, but the focus is not. It's clear we're taking a big productivity hit, and with good reason. Safety really does come first, and it's hard to get anything done when one worries about what is suddenly a suspicious package or even hears an aircraft engine change pitch in the distance. I cannot remember anything like this. It's been said that we, as a nation, will never be the same again; I fear that's now true. While the financial hit is enormous, the confidence hit is worse.

Still, we need to keep perspective. Events such as these have throughout history served as reminders that the price of liberty is indeed eternal vigilance. We've lived in recent years through a remarkable period of (relative) peace and prosperity, but such is not the norm. Conflict in human relationships is inevitable; that seems to be our nature as a species. I believe civilization should be defined by nonviolent conflict, by our ability to reason and compromise in the interest of progress and the fundamental security of this planet. If we lose confidence in our ability to make this vision a reality, then we have, well, more normal times. I'm glad I gave the same attention to my history classes as I did to science and math.

I have no doubt that we'll return to some semblance of normalcy within a few months. We must do this to preserve our individual and collective sanity, and I think a greater emphasis on safety and security will serve us well regardless. Now, however, is the time to think creatively about how to prevent such a fundamental breakdown from ever occurring again. The process begins, of course, with communication, just simple talking and listening. Now that we have the technology to communicate with anyone, anytime, anywhere, maybe we should be doing it a lot more often.

Craig Mathias is an analyst with The Farpoint Group (Ashland, Mass.).