Someone asked me today, in all earnesty "How could the world be good with humans in it?"
And I find this brand of nihilistic misanthropy so tiring because humans are good.
Humans are delightful, compassionate, social creatures who care for each other's young and protect their weak.
Humans make meaningless vocalizations, just to make each other smile. Humans create intricate medleys of spices and flavorings just to enjoy the experience of eating.
Humans create pictures and tell stories and make music just to make each other feel things.
Humans are wonderful and good. But an, infinitesimally small fraction of our population has created dire circumstances for the rest of us. That reflects poorly on them, not our species.
This society is an aberration. Do not judge the creature by the effects of its brutal captivity.
I was in an airport, getting to my seat in a plane, when I realized something. All around me, I was hearing "Excuse me," "sorry about that," and "thanks so much." Getting to your seat in an airplane can be such a tedious thing, but if you stop and listen, you'll hear these sorts of phrases literally all over the plane.
Gentle requests to move because you've got to get to your assigned seat.
A sincerely remorse or embarrassment of inconveniencing other people.
Genuine gratitude for doing the bare minimum when it comes to cooperation.
I hear more "please"s and "thank you"s on planes than I do in my normal day-to-day life, when literally everyone is a stranger and you just want to get to the next place. And, honestly, you'll hear and see it in other places if you look.
When people open a door.
When someone offers to help you carry something that looks heavy.
When someone says 'bless you' or 'salut' when you sneeze.
When there are a million little kindnesses in this world, directed in a million different directions, it's nice to be able to see some of them and smile, knowing that, yes, there is good in this world.
