Last night, Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, and three embassy staff members were killed in a senseless attack. An idiot in the U.S. made a ridiculous film disparaging all of Islam. And some other idiots in Libya felt the proper response was to attack and murder people who disagree with said idiot but who happen to be Americans.

The human mind is capable of such compassion, such creativity, and perseverance. It can be goofy, selfish, or overly proud. But it need not be filled with hate. We’re here for such a brief time, in the midst of uncertainty over just about everything but our own eventual demise. Whatever life is about, and however certain you are that you think you have the answer, it has to be about more than rage.

My mind, at times like these, invariably goes to the most moving music I know, a mash-up of two wonderful compositions, songs that could hardly be more different but which combine in a way that transcends them both.

This bitter earth,
well, what fruit it bears,
this bitter earth?

And if my life is like the dust
that hides the glow of a rose,
then what good am I?
Heaven only knows.

This bitter earth,
yes, can be so cold.
Today you are young.
Too soon you’re old.

But while a voice within me cries,
I’m sure someone may answer my call.
And this bitter earth,
may not be so bitter after all.

This bitter earth,
Lord, this bitter earth.
What good is love
that no one shares?

And if my life is like the dust
that hides the glow of a rose,
then what good am I?
Heaven only knows.