As Tocqueville notes, "as soon as a man begins to deal with common affairs in public, he begins to perceive that he is not so independent of his fellow men as he had first imagined, and that in order to obtain their support he must often lend them his cooperation."

He was also interested in improving the conditions of his fellow men.

Whether she does is just one test of our common humanity — of our belief in our individual responsibility for our fellow men and women.