This is not a political post. Just a very humble “thank you” to the troops who sacrifice so much to do their duty as prescribed by the government of the United States. Fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters who have to say goodbye without the certainty that a commuter train will bring them back to their loved ones in due time.

I challenge myself to not forget their sacrifice and be reminded of it each day. I hope you will do the same.

This post was created as part of the USO’s Community Strong event at Fort Hood –a day for healing, fun and entertainment to uplift the spirits of the Fort Hood community in the wake of the Nov. 5 shooting incident. You can help show your support for Fort Hood and its more than 349,000 military personnel, family members, retirees and civilian employees by visiting the Community Strong website, Tweeting your support with the #CommunityStrong hashtag, leaving comments on the Official USO Blog and donating to the USO’s ongoing efforts to support our troops.

I had a pretty surreal moment this morning discussing social media with Rev. Peter Storey – the South African ecumenical leader during the anti-apartheid struggle. I thought for a second about my own time in South Africa and the incredible gap I saw between the haves and have-nots. I saw that, yes, apartheid was over, but that compassion – love and respect for all people – was a long way off.

I remember a conversation I had with a manager at a gold mine near Johannesburg who assured me that although apartheid was over “things really hadn’t changed much.” The managers at his mine were all white and the workers – many of whom left their families and came in from other African countries only to work 18-hour shifts and live in work camps – were black. “Things like this take time” is usually the answer. Well, Karen Armstrong is tired of waiting.

As the 2008 TED Prize winner, Karen believes the time is now to spread compassion; to get moving and change the world. Sitting in a room with her now at the National Press Club as I write this and listening to her impassioned pleas, I can’t help to be energized as well. It’s contagious. You’ll find below the ability to read the fruits of labor from thousands of people who came together to celebrate compassion and help write Karen’s wish: the Charter for Compassion. I would encourage you to visit the Charter homepage, read the Charter and join those around the world to Affirm its message.

You can learn more about the charter at the Charter of Compassion website and more about TED here.