like you, the welcome mat is out and a connection isyours for the making. Other people are your greatestresource. They give birth to you; they feed you, dressyou, provide you with money, make you laugh and cry;they comfort you, heal you, invest your money, serviceyour car and bury you. We can't live without them. Wecan't even die without them.

Connecting is what our ancestors were doing thou-sands of years ago when they gathered around the fireto eat woolly mammoth steaks or stitch together the latestanimal-hide fashions. It's what we do when we holdquilting bees, golf tournaments, conferences and yardsales; it underlies our cultural rituals from the serious tothe frivolous, from weddings and funerals to Barbie Dollconventions and spaghetti-eating contests.

3Even the most antisocial of artists and poets whospend long, cranky months painting in a studio or composingin a cubicle off their bedroom are usually hopingthat through their creations they will eventually connectwith the public. And connection lies at the very heart ofthose three pillars of our democratic civilization: government,religion and television. Yes, television. Giventhat you can discuss Friends or The X-Files with folksfrom Berlin to Brisbane, a case must be made for thetube's ability to help people connect all over the globe.

Thousands of people impact all aspects of our lives, beit the weatherman at the TV studio in a neighboring city, orthe technician at a phone company across the continent,or the woman in Tobago who picks the mangoes for yourfruit salad. Every day, wittingly or unwittingly, we make amyriad of connections with people around the world.