Here is the key to America. If born here, it's as though you've won the lottery. You've had the opportunity to be part of the most successful large-scale social experiment ever.

Then what?

Two things. First, act legally and ethically to make the best of your circumstances. Second, work to preserve this undeserved blessing.

This is not to claim perfection, for we have many flaws, historical and contemporary. Whether one's ancestral roots are in Africa, Albania, Arabia, Argentina, or any mix of places, if one could choose his place of birth but not his family's circumstances, the choice would be America.

Fortunately, we have the political and ethical culture that enables us to gradually correct injustices. And despite protestations of the "blame America first" crowd, we have made great progress. Compare FDR's reaction to Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor with George W. Bush's plea for tolerance toward Muslims after 9-11. Clearly, this is a march of progress. Let's continue as we contemplate September 11.

A few years ago I was at a dinner party in New York and introduced as a Montanan. A man across the table said, "How lucky. You can drive 100 mph with a gun on the seat, an open beer, and be perfectly legal."

But times have changed -- and generally for the better. We can no longer legally drive 100 and we have an open container law. These changes are a function of understanding consequences.

At a later party on New York's Upper West Side, I was similarly introduced. A woman observed, "Montana. Isn't that a wild and wooly place? I bet you worry a lot about car-jacking."

"Car-jacking?" I replied incredulously.

"You know. Someone comes up to you with a gun and takes the car from you."

I explained that I could not recall such an occurrence in Montana. How long, I asked, would a car-jacker live in a state where an intended victim may well have a gun in the vehicle? Does this possibility constrain this behavior? Among the sane, the answer is clearly yes.

"Oh!" Was the totality of her reply. The implicit answer was obvious. Was this the beginning of her wakeup call?

One person who planned to join us in Montana this summer was killed on the 11th when her plane struck the Pentagon. I fly a fair amount, closing in on 2,000,000 miles on Delta. Do I worry about being the victim of a skyjacking? I'd worry less if I thought the pilots were armed.

Most Americans believe this would be a prudent precaution. Try this mental experiment. You have arrived at a hub airport en route to a distant city, e.g. DC or LA. Two identical planes will leave for that destination at about the same time.

The flight monitor lists them this way:

FLT 104 gate 4 (<1% chance a federal marshal is on board)

FLT 206 gate 8 (75% chance a pilot is certified to be armed)

Which would you choose?

Our world has changed since 9-11. And so must we.

Rules change when under attack. It's irresponsible not to adapt. Our task is to select prudent changes consistent with responsible liberty. This will not be easy and mistakes will be made. Some will be trivial, others serious. Here's a small one.

Last month my 90-year-old mother and her 80+ year-old friend flew from Holland, Michigan. They hardly fit profiles of terrorists. And yet their numbers came up and they were searched; shoes off, carry-ons examined. Such silliness is not sustainable and will gradually be repudiated -- especially if we become serious about security, not rule bound.

Like you, I have no compelling estimate of our present danger or of its probable duration. I am confident, however, that opportunists will capitalize on perceived dangers. Some already have.

There will be efforts to constrain freedom and excuses to further plunder taxpayers to the benefit of organized interests. This implies responsibility for triple vigilance. First, we should guard against violence, then erosions of liberty, and finally political opportunism.

I suggest we be guided by an overriding goal. When our grandchildren are born in America, we want them to think they too have won the lottery. Amen.