The current economic downturn; the softness in the semiconductor industry; the tribulations of Wall Street. All seem quite trivial now compared to the numbing pain we feel as a result of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Shortly after the world witnessed the madmen's work that devastated two American icons-the World Trade Center and the Pentagon-not to mention the lives of more than 6,000 innocent people, I began to receive e-mail from friends and associates throughout the world. Sven Anacker and his colleagues at InterMedia Partners, our representatives in Germany, wrote, "With deep regret we saw the terrible pictures from New York ... We were all personally shaken by this act of terrorism that took so many lives in your country. "As a German official said, 'Today, we are all Americans!' His sentiments express how deeply all Germans were shattered by this attack," Sven added.
Our friends at MESAGO, who produce a number of European expositions annually, wrote, "Since the first news arrived here, thousands of miles away, everybody has been totally shocked. Wherever people meet, there is only one subject-this unbelievable act of mindless murder." The lunatic minds that conceived these unthinkable acts failed badly in understanding how quickly and with how much strength such madness would galvanize not only Americans, but good people in every country. Additionally, we owe a special debt of gratitude to the heroes of United Airlines Flight 93. It appears that their courageous actions quashed the skyjackers' plans to crash the plane into either the U.S. Capitol or the White House. Instead, these selfless passengers diverted the flight into a field near Shanksville, Pa. Never forget, we are one world, and we have been brought closer to unity than ever before. The 6,000 who left us departed as martyrs and heroes. They will live on in our hearts and in our memories. As Euripides, the fifth century philosopher, said, "When good men die, their goodness does not perish, but lives though they are gone. As for the bad, all that was theirs dies and is buried with them." We offer our prayers and our support to the families left behind. 
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