In an open letter that has gone viral on the Internet, Antoine defiantly addresses those responsible for the atrocities in Paris, telling them that while they robbed him and his son of Helene, he will not “grant you the gift of my hatred.” He continued: “You’re asking for it, but responding to hatred with anger is falling victim to the same ignorance that has made you what you are. You want me to be scared, to view my countrymen with mistrust, to sacrifice my liberty for my security. You lost.” These attacks, like the ones on 9/11, can paralyze a nation in fear and anger and create division across the world. These are the very aims of terrorists. Antoine Leiris will not give them the victory they want, and neither should we. We should refuse to cower in fear, allowing it to irrationally create division in our country, our neighborhoods and the world to the point that we lose our identity as a nation, which cherishes freedom and welcomes those fleeing tyranny, poverty and oppression. Let’s not let the terrorists win. In the stirring conclusion to his letter, Antoine reminds us that our unity makes us stronger than any foe who would try to divide us. “We are just two, my son and me,” he writes, “but we are stronger than all the armies in the world.” They will refuse to live in fear and he will raise his son not to give the terrorists the victory they want. In fact, it is the attackers who should be afraid, not because of the threat of retaliation but rather because, as Antoine says about his son Melvil, “for his whole life this little boy will threaten you by being happy and free. Because no, you will not have his hatred either.” There is courage and wisdom here that has much to teach us about how we respond to crisis and let it bring out the best — not the worst — in all of us.