On the Same Theme

A tyrant in Iraq once heard the words a beggar spoke from under an archway: You too stand hopeful at a door, so answer the hopes of those who wait at yours. If you don't want your own heart to ache, then free the hearts of the aching from their chains. The troubled heart of someone seeking justice can topple a king from his throne. You sleep in cool comfort at noon inside your palace, while you tell the stranger outside to burn in the heat. God himself becomes the one who claims justice for the person who cannot demand it from the king.