Every day, in ways large and small, we are confronted with a choice. Sometimes it arrives quietly—a story in the news, a neighbor in need, a policy proposal buried in legislative text. Sometimes it crashes into our lives with unmistakable force: someone suffering, someone targeted, someone pushed to the margins once again.
In those moments, the question is the same:
Will we default to compassion, or to cruelty?
Cruelty is easy. It asks nothing of us but our silence. It thrives when we look away. It disguises itself as pragmatism, toughness, “the way things are.” It is a force that narrows our world until other people’s pain becomes weightless, distant, or deserved. And history shows us—again and again—what happens when cruelty becomes policy: families shattered, rights stripped, communities terrorized, democracy hollowed out from within.
Compassion, by contrast, is deliberate. It requires attention. It requires willingness. It asks us to recognize that the people who suffer are not abstractions or inconveniences but human beings with stories and worth. Compassion expands the world; it reminds us that our fates are linked and that dignity is not a scarce resource to be rationed.
To choose compassion is not to be naïve or weak. It is to stand firmly in the belief that justice is possible, that harm is not inevitable, and that our shared humanity matters more than anyone’s hunger for power. Compassion is courage, practiced daily.
Right now, across this country, cruelty is being marketed as a governing philosophy. Policies that rip apart families, target the vulnerable, erase whole communities, and punish the poor are not accidents—they are choices. And so our choices matter too.
When we see suffering, do we turn the page?
When we see injustice, do we rationalize it?
When we see leaders wield cruelty as a weapon, do we shrug, or do we resist?
We cannot control every event, but we can control our response. And in a time when cruelty is becoming organized, compassion must become organized too.
The future will be shaped by the choices we make in moments exactly like these. May we choose the path that widens the circle, eases the burden, and affirms the humanity of those who have been told they are expendable.
May we choose compassion. Every time.
When faced with the suffering and injustice in our path, will we default to compassion or to cruelty?