This Sept. 11 anniversary, Americans should return to compassion

It began with a phone call and the spark of an idea, as good things sometimes do.  Almost 21 years ago, just weeks after the attacks of 9/11, my friend and business colleague, David Paine, called me from California.  He knew that my brother, Glenn Winuk, had been murdered in the attacks, but we hadn’t spoken with each other about it yet.  David was originally a New Yorker, like me, but had moved west years before.

To paraphrase, David said: “What do you think about trying to make the anniversary of the attacks into an annual day of doing good?  Can we turn this tragedy on its head, and truly honor those killed by motivating people each anniversary to do good deeds, as people are doing now in the aftermath of the attacks?  Do you think this is a good idea?”