Are People Capable Of Goodness?

[Geneviev]

The news right now seems pretty hopeless. It's easy to see it and assume that people are incapable of love for their fellow human beings, or compassion, or generosity. After all, there are so many people who act as if they don't care right now. But at the same time, there are positive news stories out there if you know where to look. Those stories make it seem like every single person can become a hero, and every single person is capable of acting out of love and compassion. I believe that people don't easily fit into either one of those categories, since we're just too complicated for that.

But the question I do want to ask is this: Are people capable of being entirely good in every situation? Or is the news (which doesn't explicitly try to make people look good) right about what human beings are capable of?

Personally, I believe that people are already good. That is why we have positive news stories about people who are willing to do the right thing. It is also the reason that positive news stories aren't acknowledged often in the news. Good people are so common that we don't consider it news when they do good. But, I don't think that we can become perfectly good, at least not in this world. Otherwise, we would have no news and no need for it. Everything would be too predictable and peaceful. So, essentially, I believe that people can become better but not perfect.

[Dominioan]

Yes.

[Valentine Z]

It is inevitable that we usually have news about people doing the most horrible deeds that you can ever imagine, and usually/always, it disgusts you. So there was that. >,<

However, people are also capable of goodness one way or another. You will see that amidst all of these bad news, horrible riots, pandemics, and all that, comes people with the mere purpose of helping their friends, or family, or strangers out.

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On the political side, Israel, Sudan Agree to Normalize Ties in U.S.-Brokered Deal, whereby the accord ends decades of hostility as one of Africa’s largest countries joins a broader diplomatic realignment in the Middle East.

On the non-political side, This Texas farm connects special-needs kids with injured animals: ‘They’re just like me’, reinforcing kids with the idea that a disability is not an end-all to their life, or to make them feel bad about their disabilities.

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My personal favorite is this one! I am not affiliated with them in any way, just a fan of them. The fact that people have come together to open a sanctuary to take care of endangered animals, especially from animal circuses, to give them a new (and freer life), is something that warms my heart.

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There's a vending machine in that sells freshly made rice, and it was all an effort of one man! "[In] Awa-shi, Japan, you’ll find a rare vending machine selling tantalizing homemade meals. Even better? The vending machine owner, Tadashi Yoshimoto, grows the rice in every meal just down the road on his own farm. In a country that prides itself on the freshness of its food, Yoshimoto has set a new standard for readymade fare." The man travels back and forth just for this little piece of work that he is proud of.

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And with that, I wish you, a good day too! ♥

[Post War America]

Yes /thread

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

Short answer: yes. Some people are capable of goodness.

[Rwekazaland]

YEs.

[Kelvaros Prime]

Yes. Believe it or not, it's possible to be good.

[Twicetagram and JYPe]

Yes. Even through this time you could still contribute a little to society.

[Turelisa-]

As a Calvinist, I believe we are all capable of badness at some point in our lives, but not all of us are capable of goodness.

[Geneviev]

It is inevitable that we usually have news about people doing the most horrible deeds that you can ever imagine, and usually/always, it disgusts you. So there was that. >,<

However, people are also capable of goodness one way or another. You will see that amidst all of these bad news, horrible riots, pandemics, and all that, comes people with the mere purpose of helping their friends, or family, or strangers out.

-----

On the political side, Israel, Sudan Agree to Normalize Ties in U.S.-Brokered Deal, whereby the accord ends decades of hostility as one of Africa’s largest countries joins a broader diplomatic realignment in the Middle East.

On the non-political side, This Texas farm connects special-needs kids with injured animals: ‘They’re just like me’, reinforcing kids with the idea that a disability is not an end-all to their life, or to make them feel bad about their disabilities.

-----

My personal favorite is this one! I am not affiliated with them in any way, just a fan of them. The fact that people have come together to open a sanctuary to take care of endangered animals, especially from animal circuses, to give them a new (and freer life), is something that warms my heart.

-----

There's a vending machine in that sells freshly made rice, and it was all an effort of one man! "[In] Awa-shi, Japan, you’ll find a rare vending machine selling tantalizing homemade meals. Even better? The vending machine owner, Tadashi Yoshimoto, grows the rice in every meal just down the road on his own farm. In a country that prides itself on the freshness of its food, Yoshimoto has set a new standard for readymade fare." The man travels back and forth just for this little piece of work that he is proud of.

-----

And with that, I wish you, a good day too! ♥

Those are so nice and positive. Definitely. I did acknowledge the positive news stories in OP for a reason, I love seeing them. They are a good reason to have faith in human beings. But I'm just not sure that people can be completely good, even if they are mostly good.

[Willtime]

They CAN.
But they wont,at least not all of them will.

[Valentine Z]

Those are so nice and positive. Definitely. I did acknowledge the positive news stories in OP for a reason, I love seeing them. They are a good reason to have faith in human beings. But I'm just not sure that people can be completely good, even if they are mostly good.

Definitely a spectrum of good and bad. It's human for people to have some bad thoughts - not every good person may be good all the time, just like how every bad person may not be bad all the time.

It's more human for someone to admit that they have been bad or wrong in the past, and strive to do their best in the future, not just with words and promises, but with actions. Not that I am pointing fingers, mind you. Personally had fits of crazy at the worst of times myself, so... yeah!

A crowning moment of heartwarming and awesome, from everyone. ^^

[Luziyca]

Definitely. Every year around harvest, there's a story about a bunch of farmers helping the family of a deceased farmer complete their harvest, like this one from this year.

[Geneviev]

They CAN.
But they wont,at least not all of them will.

Why not?

Those are so nice and positive. Definitely. I did acknowledge the positive news stories in OP for a reason, I love seeing them. They are a good reason to have faith in human beings. But I'm just not sure that people can be completely good, even if they are mostly good.

Definitely a spectrum of good and bad. It's human for people to have some bad thoughts - not every good person may be good all the time, just like how every bad person may not be bad all the time.

It's more human for someone to admit that they have been bad or wrong in the past, and strive to do their best in the future, not just with words and promises, but with actions. Not that I am pointing fingers, mind you. Personally had fits of crazy at the worst of times myself, so... yeah!

A crowning moment of heartwarming and awesome, from everyone. ^^

Yes, that's essentially how I see it. And with more forgiveness for past mistakes, and things like that, I think people will be more willing to change and become good.

[Bombadil]

I don't think anyone grows up wanting to be mean or unpopular, more often it's an issue of ego and projection that makes them do bad things even though they might not view it as a bad thing. Pretty sure if you asked Hitler 'are you a bad person' he'd be like, 'what? no..'

[Albrenia]

The short answer is: Yes.

Everyone is capable of good or evil.

[Borderlands of Rojava]

Some are. Most are just followers and when allowed to act like fucking animals, they often do.

[The Free Joy State]

Most human beings have the capacity for both goodness and badness (people are rarely an extreme of all bad, and I'd never trust a person who claims they were all good, as everyone has some negative traits).

So, the short answer is, yes. Most people are capable of goodness.

I don't think anyone grows up wanting to be mean or unpopular, more often it's an issue of ego and projection that makes them do bad things even though they might not view it as a bad thing. Pretty sure if you asked Hitler 'are you a bad person' he'd be like, 'what? no..'

That's like the saying, "Everyone is the hero of their own story".

Generally, even the most heinous of people would truly think they are doing good things.

[Northwest Slobovia]

Yes, there are people capable of being good all the time, and more people capable of being good a lot of the time. That civilized society continues to function should be proof enough; crime, rioting and unrest are exceptions, not the rule.

[Saiwania]

What I do and think is more good in my eyes, than the alternatives that too many people want to defend.

[Willtime]

They CAN.
But they wont,at least not all of them will.

Why not?

Too many people think they can get some thing from being bad.
To make thing worse,there surely some people who get some thing from beingg bad.
If there is precedent, someone will learn.

[Exxosia]

I would want to say yes.

But when I go out in public, so many people are just horrible. It takes so much effort on their part to be that horrible. Literally doing nothing at all aside from going about the basic tasks at hand would render them just a hair on the good side of neutral. I think back on my life and I can only think of a handful of times when people were not expending a large amount of effort to be evil and cruel.

So are they capable? Yes.

Are they going to try? No.

[Nobel Hobos 2]

The first house I lived in after leaving the family home was a sooty hovel on an inner-city main road.
It was a "share house" meaning all four bedrooms were full, each with a different man and his man-stuff.

So one day three of us were sitting in the kitchen, when one of the others got up and started making tea.
He didn't offer us any, which was unusual, but not unprecedented.
Maybe he was annoyed at someone leaving underpants in the bathroom, or some other share-house niggle.
Then he put four cups on a tray, a bowl of sugar, a cup of milk. Now we were wondering the fuck.

So Dave (that was his name) takes the tray with a pot of tea and stuff on it, out of the kitchen and out the front door.
He came back half an hour later, and explained it to me (the other denizen had gone back to his room).
There had been a car accident out the front. I hadn't paid any attention to it, but Dave had taken out some tea.

The people from the accident had gratefully accepted some tea while waiting for the cops to arrive.
People who've had a (not-so-minor) collision, left to themselves, often get into an argument.
But Dave was a martial artist, and looked like it, so together with cups of tea I guess he kept things from getting worse.

I was quite impressed. I might even do the same if something like that happens, even though my school of martial arts is No Kan Do.

[Neanderthaland]

People are a kind of Ape, and so struggle with consistency.

But people are also a kind of Ape, and so are highly-social empathic animals, with the capacity for enormous love and kindness.

[The Black Forrest]

People are a kind of Ape, and so struggle with consistency.

But people are also a kind of Ape, and so are highly-social empathic animals, with the capacity for enormous love and kindness.

We are in fact apes. Our closest cousins are the Chimp and the Bonobo.

We can do good yet we tend to prefer bad. Don’t think you will find any other of the apes willing to screw others over for a percentage.