I tapped the little poem-of-sorts (below) out on my iPhone this morning, sitting in the Newart airport with my more conservative dad, looking at the NYC skyline. We were flying on 9/11. We were not afraid. We were not angry. But, with all the anti-Islamic sentiment in the air, so much that loved ones I know sometimes buy into it, we were confused. How do we defeat the enemy? How can we be safe?

NYC skyline. Missing something.

A terrible yet teachable moment we all remember.

We have a choice as individuals, society & planet: compassion or aggression. What caused this hole in our skyline, our lives, hearts? Aggression.

How do we defeat aggression?

Compassion.

Jesus did it. Gandhi. Dalai Lama, King.

Would we rather follow their path, or the path of bin Laden, Hitler, Stalin, Mao?

Us vs. Them doesn’t get us or them anywhere. Terry Jones? Palin? Arizona’s new anti-immigration laws? We can blame others, or each one of us can say

I take responsibility for my heart

—aggression or compassion—

and my actions.