In the past months and days, the world has witnessed breathtaking examples of destruction and redemption - people crippled by hatred kill thousands of innocents, while men and women from different cultures and religions join forces at home and abroad to beat back the power of ethnic hatred, and to feed, clothe, and in some cases, rescue one another from certain death.

A story reported in the news shortly after the attack on the World Trade Center probably says it best: as the second Tower began to crumple, an Hasidic Jew in front of the building grabbed the arm of a man on the ground next to him, a Muslim who'd just escaped the Tower, and said, "Let's get out here now, brother . . . there's a wall of glass coming our way!" They both made it.

The lesson that crisis taught these men is about racism, its endless manifestations, and its glorious limitations. Racism is often about color, but not always. Prejudice can frequently be about religion, but not always. Prejudice can easily be about gender, or age, or ethnic background, but not always. Sometimes the hatred or bias that triggers violence, exclusion, or victimization can be about us - our own, unique lack of compassion, emotional intelligence, or tolerance for anyone who doesn't believe what we believe or who doesn't behave like we behave. Sometimes racism is about us.

In a diverse society like ours, it's often too easy to think "racism" when we don't get the promotion we believe we deserve, when we don't move up the ladder fast enough, or when the knock at the door isn’t success, but disappointment. There's hardly a racial group in America today that does not see race-based prejudice as the root of all evil. The focus on racism in our society has had wide consequences - some have changed us and our nation for the better. In other cases, the complex task of sorting through meritless accusations of racism makes it very difficult to respond to charges that are authentic and that warrant an unwavering response.

In America, we've made great strides in leveling the playing field and reducing the racial divide, but much more remains to be done. We still face issues like racial profiling, as well as discrimination and inequities in the areas of employment, education, and housing. While many industries have recognized the influence or presence of race-based discrimination and have taken measures to address the situation, other industries, corporations, and organizations still have great challenges to address.

Our responsibility now is to distinguish between choices and behavior that are race-based, and decisions and actions that are not. We should expect the best from one another and give each other the benefit of the doubt, especially in times of crisis and tension. The world was watching when President Bush asked the nation to live up to its ideals after September 11, and to embrace the Muslim-Americans among us. The world heard America when we said our mission was to end terrorism, not to fight men and women of a different culture or religion. And here, at home, across the nation, Americans who reached out and mourned and cared for one another in a thousand different ways, through long nights and days, proved that it truly is the content of our character, and not the color of our skin, that counts.