VII

If any of you can explain to me why people are capable of good or evil, you get a gold star. I’m kidding about the gold star — I don’t have any. Would a Nobel Peace Prize suffice?

A few years ago, I learned about what people thought about good or evil. John Locke presents the tabula rasa — the blank slate — in that humans are born neither bad nor good, but their character is based upon the environment they grow up in.

Now, what does that say about our so-called civilized world? Do bad people reflect a similarly maligned society?

Rousseau and Hobbes propose the opposite. Rousseau suggests that humans are born inherently good, and Hobbes suggests that humans are naturally bad.

While interesting theories, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. Whether or not some are inherently good and some are inherently bad — the environment one grows up in will /always/ change their character. We can fix our society, and therefore we can save our people.

I have always believed there will be a better day. Is it part of human nature that we believe? That we hope? That we dream? I have always believed in a world of good, decent humans, in a good, decent world. I’ve always hoped for a future where charities will finally be able to take a step back from their tireless, thankless work, simply because they have accomplished their jobs.

I write for a future where there is no physical distinction between human and nature — our lifestyles inexorably intertwined with our environment.

I dream of a future where there is no social distinction between man or woman, white or black, rich or poor.