Burroughs said that corporations and wealthy individuals, who in her experience often have a "narrow minded" world view focused on wealth creation, should be helping people who might not have been victimized on Sept. 11 but are hurting nonetheless.
"There's been a great outpouring to support the disaster in New York from local corporations," Burroughs said. "I hope they will continue to support needs in their own community."
All that said, the denizens of Silicon Valley point out that this region has many attributes that could help make it part of our national ground zero of the healing process.
For instance, if you see a guy wearing a turban being accosted in Palo Alto, he's probably not the target of bigots or ruffians, but of job seekers. He may well be a vice president at a Fortune 500 company. This is a region, its promoters say, that takes rightful pride in its colorblindness -- hiring and promoting the best people, regardless of ethnic background.
The promoters add that the global reach of technology, not to mention the business of technology, has brought the world together and forged a kind of worldwide economic diplomacy. It can set the stage for creating common interests among nations, making it tough for fanatics to attract potential followers.
In the shorter term, perhaps Silicon Valley could put its incomparable collective intellect, innovation and goal orientation into pursuing a different end: holding onto a newfound perspective.
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