This weekend Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert will hold their "Rally to Restore Sanity" on the mall in Washington, D.C. What does it mean that two of the nation's most prominent comedians are sponsors of a “political” rally that will potentially draw hundreds of thousands of people? Is this just a counter punch to Glenn Beck and the Tea Party, or is something else going on?

These four small, powerful words are what one leader told me last week as to why she works so hard in her community. Her words echoed those of her AARP colleagues in the room. I suspect if I had asked you the same question after four days of our working together you might have said something similar. But, in the rush and busyness of our days, these words can be easy to forget, misplace, or cake over. Now, more than ever, we must remember them.

When I sat down this morning I planned to write about Bob Woodward’s new book, Obama’s War, but instead I find myself literally drawn to write about the sad story of the college student Tyler Clemente and his recent suicide after a video of a sexual encounter was placed online. I just returned from visiting my daughter for parents’ weekend at her college – and Emily, my son Jonathan, and Tyler are on my mind.

Last week I wrote about whether public school transformation was now dead in Washington, D.C. as a result of Mayor Adrian Fenty’s election defeat. Now, this week, in New York City, NBC News and a host of partners are putting on “Education Nation” to raise ideas and spark discussion about how to change public schools. In both instances, there’s a key ingredient to success missing: creating a new ethic in the nation for mobilizing people to transform public schools.

Is school reform dead in Washington D.C. now that Mayor Adrian Fenty was solidly defeated for re-election? Many observers see his defeat as a sign that people don’t want genuine reform or have the stomach for it. They’re wrong. But to create real and sustainable transformation, we’ll need to take a different path. There are lessons from DC for all of us.

I’ve been finishing up a new book on “intentionality” about how to make a difference in society and also stay true to yourself and there’s a section where I write about charity vs. change. There has always been a difference that has concerned me – oftentimes I think we get them confused. I still do; so I wanted to return to this topic amid the challenges we face.

Each year at this time I write about 9/11 and remember my friend Frank who was lost in one of the World Trade Towers and reflect on the meaning of that event for where we find ourselves today. This year I find myself numb. I still have absolute clarity of seeing the plane explode into Frank’s building as I watched it unfold live on TV; but too many events over the last year leave me without a clear sense of what that dreadful day means for us now. Here’s why.