We are defined by the times we live in. The latter half of the 20th century and the first half of the 21st century have been punctuated by an explosion in technologies of all kinds. It changes the way we live, work and think. It even changes the way peoples war on each other.
Information is everywhere - and information can take many forms. It can be text such as you are reading now, it can be sounds (music, interviews), it can be sights (videos, illustrations) - it can even be all of these at once.
We will be judged by future generations by how we adapt to these wonderous changes. Will we adapt by trying to inhibit and mold these new technologies into old forms or will we change our ways to adapt to the reality of having information available at our fingertips anywhere, anytime?
Right now we are seeing the struggle between the old forces and the winds of change. This is the defining struggle of our time. Can we adapt to new ways while keeping the important freedoms we have struggled for these past 227 years.
Today our personal Freedoms are being encroached upon by both the War on Terror and the attempts to write new rules for sharing information.
Are the old methods of business with its multitude of middlemen prevail or will we find a new business model compatible with the realities of the information revolution? Our continued dominance in the world is at stake. If we limit our ability to innvoate so that entrenched business models can continue as is, world leadership will go elsewhere.
And somewhere in the fight against terrorists we will have to decide where to place the balance point between freedom and security. The beautiful thing about America is our Quality of Life. I am not willing to give that up just because a few crazed arabs want to harm us. I heartily support President Bush in the War on Terror - they must be stopped. If we are forced to give up these freedoms just to suppress violence at home, Osama has already won and he will have forced us to adopt his ways of suppression and intolerance.