Reference Points.

Certain moments of recent history will always have the capacity to both choke me up and give drastic perspective to the fact that beyond raising my children I have done virtually nothing of consequence with my life as of yet.  Taken no risk on behalf of a greater cause.  Sacrificed no safety.  Never put someone else's interests substantially above my own.

The man who stood in front of the tanks in Tiananmen.  Pat Tillaman's sacrifice.

And now this woman's murder on the street in Tehran.   As her eyes go blank they catch the camera, and the stare is penetrating.