Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life

The Jan. 8 shooting in Tucson, Ariz., unleashed a national outpouring of compassion for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her fellow victims. But if we were to apply the lessons spelled out in a new book — Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life by former nun Karen Armstrong — we would go much further than that. Armstrong would have us feel compassion for Jared Loughner, the accused killer of six. She would have Democrats feel compassion for Republicans, and vice versa. Indeed, writes Armstrong, as denizens of the global village we must "make allies of our enemies" around the world. … Back to Article