We seem to be overwhelmed with displays of gratuitous cruelty. I’m not suggesting silence as a response to any of it. Far from it. However, I am arguing for doubling-down on acts of kindness in our own spheres of influence. Maybe it’s my personal way of showing that good will inevitably triumph over evil.

Living in New York City, it’s very easy to keep your head down and ignore some of the obvious need that’s everywhere. Immigrants sitting on the sidewalk, often swaddling babies, and calling out “chow-koh-LAH-teh”. The homeless population crouched against buildings. Sometimes they’re panhandling. Sometimes they’re (hopefully) asleep or they’re just sitting with vacant looks.

I’ve been as desensitized as many of us to this need but resolved this year to do better.

Last week, on a bitter cold night, I stopped and bought 2 slices of pizza en route to meet friends for dinner on the Upper West Side. I stopped within 2 blocks of the pizzeria in front of a homeless man, adjacent to a building’s doorway. I asked him if he’d like some warm pizza. He said, “No.” And then he asked me if I had any spare change. I shook my head, concerned that the money might go toward drugs.

Instead, I walked on, and in a few blocks, saw a younger homeless man, again on the sidewalk and leaning against a wall, swathed in blankets. This time my offer was gladly accepted.

The cost for a couple of slices of pizza was a small price to pay for feeling I was fighting back against inhumanity, which now seems omnipresent. And getting worse every day.