No Matter What Happens, I Will Always Believe In Humanity

No matter what happens in life, I will always believe in humanity.

It doesn’t matter how many times I hear about people being casually cruel in their lives, whether it be through bullying, pettiness, mocking people, or something else that significantly impacts someone’s life. I will call this person out and advocate for better behavior and treatment of others. I will support the people who have been hurt and the people who are doing the advocacy work themselves to get laws passed to protect people from these atrocities. I will work to make the world a better place. I will do all these things, but I will not lose my faith in humanity over this.

It doesn’t matter how many times people hurt others, themselves, or me. I will cry, scream, mourn, and hurt. I will comfort the person who was hurt, or I will comfort myself and seek support. I will stand up to the person who has hurt and let them know that I will not condone this kind of behavior, nor will I allow them to continue to act on this behavior if the outcome is only pain for others. I will do all these things and more, but I will not cast off all humanity as bad.

It doesn’t matter how many times people choose greed over generosity, selfishness over compassion. I will yell and criticize people for valuing property and things over humans, and I will not back down on my beliefs for a better world, but I will not think nor believe that everyone feels this way.

It doesn’t matter how many times people fight with one another, physically or emotionally. I will call them out and point out that fighting and violence do more harm than good. I will not support policies or politicians that condone war or violence, but I will not believe that everyone wants violence and would all prefer to solve issues peacefully.

It doesn’t matter how many times I hear about horrible crimes committed on the news. I will shake my head and cry my tears. I will question why some people have to be so cruel. I will learn ways that we can make the world safer for everyone so that there are not so many victims involved—if any victims at all—in these sorts of crimes. But I will not believe that every single person on the planet is like this. I will believe that this is the minority, not the majority, of people I’m hearing committing such terrible acts. The majority of people are good and kind, flawed but human, and they are not in the spotlight because they are the majority of people, not the exception.

It doesn’t matter how many atrocities humanity commits, because it will never shatter my belief in humanity. It is my conscience, my values, and the core of my beliefs as a person that everyone is inherently good. The day I stop believing in humanity is the day I stop living my truth. Even when I die in this life, I will have died believing that we were capable of such goodness and that many of us did act upon that goodness within ourselves.

I know this may sound hard to believe. I know there are times in my life where the negativity in the world is so overwhelming that I can’t breathe. I know there are times in my life when I just wanted to slam my fist and say, “Enough is enough.” I know there are times in my life that I wonder why I, or anyone else, is still here, why we’re allowed to do things that hurt ourselves and others, why we continue to do these things when we should know better and do better.

But I also know that I’ve seen the goodness in people. I’ve seen kindness. I’ve seen people reach out to me and others. I’ve seen people pursue their passions and dreams and share them with others enthusiastically, not feeling jealous or threatened in any way. I’ve seen people dedicate their jobs, their hobbies, and part of their lives to helping others and making the world a better place. I’ve seen people do more good than harm. I’ve seen people who try to do better, be better, be happier, and shed brightness around everything they touch. I’ve seen people who truly care about others. I’ve seen people care, period.

It can be hard to believe the best in humanity when all you see and hear is the worst. But if you look around you, you will see that is not the case. There are people doing good in the world. Some people are showing kindness and compassion to everyone and everything around them. There are people who care.

No matter what happens in life, I will always believe in humanity. I believe that we are capable of doing great things and being the best versions of ourselves. The moment I stop believing in humanity is the moment I lose my humanity myself. And I refuse to live like that.