Every time a new tragic event happens my mind goes back to this quote by Anne Frank:
Terrible as they’ve been, and my God, they’ve been terrible…Nothing we’ve seen, so far, has been as horrific as what she experienced, but somehow from her hiding place in that tiny attic she remained hopeful and believed “people are really good at heart”.
I like… no, I love that notion, but as I get older and see the world changing and truly turning into a wilderness full of hate and vitriol, I wonder… Will the approaching thunder be too powerful for those of us who believe we have a good heart?
My fear is, all of us believe our hearts are good, our ideas are right, our religion is the one, our political views are the answer and our path is righteous. Most of us believe that about ourselves. But, we can’t all be right and therein lies the problem. If we believe we’re right, then everyone else must be wrong.
Us against them. We’ve taken that to the extreme and that’s where my fear lives. We can’t all be right and we’ve become less inclined to respectfully agree to disagree. Hating each other is easier than accepting differences. The internet connects us in wonderful ways, but it also makes an army out of like-minded people. Ranting in an echo chamber leaves little room to listen.
Compromise is a dirty word now and love is conditional. It feels so meaningless to look up into the heavens and think it will all come out right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again. But, I guess if a young girl hiding in an attic, writing her diary in the dark of night as atrocities beyond our imagination played out around her still believed people were really good at heart who am I to doubt her.
So, I’ll keep trying to believe, and hope you will too. An army of love could be really strong. Foolish idea? Yeah, probably… But, what’s the alternative?
Jody's World 
So much food for thought written with such clarity.
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Thank you. ❤️
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It is, of course, the ‘herd’ mentality on steroids… with this one exception… there’s a bunch of different herds refusing to co-exist. It’s religion, race, color, nationality, political and every sub-set one can imagine. The world has it’s share of good-hearted people but their voices are stilled by rhetoric and fear… the ‘squeaky wheels’ of society in turmoil are the minority striving to be the majority…
The world once thought itself a melting pot… now it’s more a boiling pot
greg
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Hello My Friend, That’s a truth bomb right there. I couldn’t agree more. I’m fearful of this boiling pot exploding. Still writing? Miss your reading your stuff.
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Your blog is so timely, so on track, so truthful and a fine example of that hard-to-define ‘writer’s talent’… your pen speaks volumes more than the sum of the words written…
I’m still writing and still trying to sharpen my ‘pen’… and keep it sharpened
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Thank you, my friend. I’d love for you to Guest Blog here anytime you’d like. I’d love to share one of your always brilliant short stories! Let me know if you’re interested!
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