One lesson we've learned is that the same institutional anchors that seem so frustrating in a race of the swiftest are lifesavers in a storm. Our Constitution - the nation's architecture - was designed to "establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity." When we needed it, those institutions and that architecture delivered as the founders intended.
On the morning of Sept. 12, military personnel arrived at the Pentagon for work, the New York City Fire Department, although mourning the loss of hundreds of its own, continued to put out fires and assist in rescue efforts. Schools and libraries opened, emergencies were handled, information flowed and life continued, albeit with a new appreciation of what that truly means.
The Internet proved a valuable tool in making that happen. Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig, speaking a few years ago, said the architecture of the Internet is formed by computer code, not governed by the Constitution. The Internet was designed as an anarchy, a headless network able to survive a Cold War nuclear strike. When the phones went down, e-mail and the Internet still worked.
In a Wall Street Journal column, Peggy Noonan described the scene at ground zero where investment bankers, orthodontists, magazine editors and lawyers cheered the construction workers, cops, emergency medical workers and fire fighters. All of us were there in spirit through radio, television, cable and the Internet.
Through the Internet, the "global information society" joined with us in our loss and offered help and encouragement. We found that the global society is made up of individuals and they reacted like good neighbors do, setting aside their differences and lending a hand when needed.