What struck me is — if we developed bipedalism six or seven million years ago on the African savannas, rough, thorny country — there can’t have been a single individual who would have lived 20, 30 years who didn’t at some stage have his or her leg — or legs, one or two — incapacitated. If one leg is incapacitated with a sprain or a break or an abcess or a thorn, unless somebody looks after you on the African savanna, brings you water, brings you food, fends off the hyenas and the lions, you won’t make it. Given that everyone was bipedal, there has to have been genetic selection for empathy, for compassion. I believe that is the single strongest characteristic of being human today, and that is our propensity and natural ability to feel empathetic and compassionate and sympathetic. That is the one character that, to me, really sets us apart from other forms of life. That is the one character we really need to rely on to get us through the difficult years and to think globally as opposed to thinking nationally or racially or on the various mini-forms of bonding that we approach. So losing my legs taught me that, too, in a very real sense, and it has become a major part of my public message. Let’s go back to fundamentals. We are compassionate. With compassion, we can solve a lot of the problems that threaten us today.