The Opposite of Evil

Roger and Jack woke up extra early to help the scouts put up flags in all of the yards around the neighborhood, which they do about a half dozen times a year on civic holidays and important days of remembrance like today. Yet another new responsibility now that Jack is 12.

I remember waking up to flags in the neighborhood on the morning of September 12, 2001, and taking great comfort in the sense of community they represented. We were there for one another. The horrifying acts that resulted from the worst of human nature were bringing out the best in us. Over and over we heard stories of people putting others ahead of themselves, of doing good, even when it meant great sacrifice.

Late this afternoon, just after the boys got home from taking down flags, it started thundering and raining. I curled up under a blanket and watched the Frontline episode called Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero.

As the show grappled with the question of how the men who hijacked the planes could have done what they did, one line in particular rang true: "Maybe evil is when you lose your sense that a human being is a human being."

So how do we combat evil? We do the opposite. We see one another. We love one another. We pray for one another. Even, and perhaps most importantly, for our enemies.