I Believe In You

[SlackerinDeNile]

I share your faith, SFDebris.

Same here. I think people are by nature good, but there are always individuals unbelievably skilled at behaving badly.

I respect and admire the faith of Chuck and many of his followers, but I can tell you from experience many people are not by nature 'good.'
I'm not trying to be edgy, angsty or cynical but there are people who are evil, take pleasure in doing evil things and are aware that they are evil.
Of course, most of the people who do evil things will always relentlessly try to justify their views and actions, particularly those in positions of power.

I wish I had a peaceful solution for how to stop or even change them, but I don't. Fighting them sometimes works, but will likely get you and many of your allies killed. Plus they just keep being born, it's incredibly depressing to think about and it does feel like they are becoming more numerous and powerful each day.

It gives me some pleasure to keep in mind that they were once screaming, harmless infants, I think it's important to have some humility and remind yourself that you were once simple, little and maybe even cute, as were your friends and enemies.

[YAGWG]

Chuck, your OP gives me a ray of light.

For some background: my wife's Russian and currently back home caring for her mom who's ill, but we text and email each other at least once a week.

She said in her most recent email that, due to current events in the news, she's worried about whether she'd get to come back here or whether the border people would stop her and/or subject her to loads of interrogations due to her nationality.

I've just got to bear what you said in mind and that things will sort themselves out.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

Chuck...your belief is sadly misplaced.

[Beastro]

...why?

Why do you have faith in us, Chuck? I don't have faith in me.

That explains a lot.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

...touche. >.o

[Yukaphile]

Well, this is the very same planet where a distressingly high number of people seem to want to sympathize with a barbarian horde and cite "war trauma" as a shield to defend their atrocious behavior, and to act as if it wasn't a bunch of crude, primitive people making conscious choices they knew were wrong, but did so anyway. Because they were on the "right side," because other people's agendas influence them, or they just blame the wrong people for crimes others commit. It's gotta stop. We're never going to make it as a species if we can't stop trying to inject religion or science or psychology into everything and just hold the guilty and the wicked and the cruel and depraved and disgusting scumbags responsible for their own actions. No one else made them. They choose to do evil. It's just as simple as that.

[Karha of Honor]

Well, this is the very same planet where a distressingly high number of people seem to want to sympathize with a barbarian horde and cite "war trauma" as a shield to defend their atrocious behavior, and to act as if it wasn't a bunch of crude, primitive people making conscious choices they knew were wrong, but did so anyway. Because they were on the "right side," because other people's agendas influence them, or they just blame the wrong people for crimes others commit. It's gotta stop. We're never going to make it as a species if we can't stop trying to inject religion or science or psychology into everything and just hold the guilty and the wicked and the cruel and depraved and disgusting scumbags responsible for their own actions. No one else made them. They choose to do evil. It's just as simple as that.

The Left started acting like a religious mob without religion.

If he had faith in us we would not have an ignore function.

[unknownsample]

The right of course is blameless.

[Karha of Honor]

The right of course is blameless.

I fail to see how the current right forced the current left into their current brand of politics.

[Deledrius]

Any argument that includes "The Right" or "The Left" is doomed to obfuscate rather than illuminate by its very nature, as these terms are ultimately reductive. Try to avoid them if you seek greater understanding.