The Good Outnumber the Evil, and Always Will

I was going to post a funny story about Henry today, but then the bombing at the Boston Marathon happened. And my first thought, which I heard echoed again and again on social media, was 'What is WRONG with people??".  Mixed in with my heartbreak for those effected was just pure exasperation how we have ANOTHER news story with ANOTHER terrible mass murdering event. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?


And I felt, just a little bit, that feeling of giving up on humanity.  Of just throwing my hands up and saying "This world is broken, and we are simply falling apart.".  But then I came across this on Facebook, and it was so moving to me that I thought it was worth sharing:

Boston. Fucking horrible.

I remember, when 9/11 went down, my reaction was, "Well, I've had it with humanity."

But I was wrong. I don't know what's going to be revealed to be behind all of this mayhem. One human insect or a poisonous mass of broken sociopaths.

But here's what I DO know. If it's one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet. You watch the videos of the carnage and there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out. (Thanks FAKE Gallery founder and owner Paul Kozlowski for pointing this out to me). This is a giant planet and we're lucky to live on it but there are prices and penalties incurred for the daily miracle of existence. One of them is, every once in awhile, the wiring of a tiny sliver of the species gets snarled and they're pointed towards darkness.

But the vast majority stands against that darkness and, like white blood cells attacking a virus, they dilute and weaken and eventually wash away the evil doers and, more importantly, the damage they wreak. This is beyond religion or creed or nation. We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We'd have eaten ourselves alive long ago.

So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, "The good outnumber you, and we always will."

 

Well said Patton Oswalt, whomever you are.  Your words are being shared again and again, and it's because you are able to remind us that yes, some among us are terrible, dark and twisted people.  But not all of us.  Not even close to all of us.  The good outnumber the bad, and as long as we have hope in that, there is hope for humanity.