There are only two types of people in this world:
Type 1: Good People
They are kind and patient.
They volunteer at homeless shelters.
They help little old ladies across the street and find lost cats.
They watch documentaries, read the BBC, listen to NPR, drive the speed limit and cross the street at crosswalks.
Most importantly, they have not once in their life said anything even slightly racist, sexist, classist, agist, ableist, homophobic, transphobic, Islamophobic or antisemitic.
Type 2: Bad People
Everyone else.
Wait? What? But…
In case it isn’t obvious, I don’t believe any of that.
Humanity is messy.
We are beautiful and imperfect.
Within a single day we are capable of kindness and cruelty.
Within a single lifetime we are capable of enlightenment and ignorance.
Not convinced?
Gandhi led his nation to a peaceful revolution against colonization. He also—as a young man— wrote that black people “are troublesome, very dirty and live like animals” and slept naked with his own grandniece to test his willpower to abstain from sex.
Mother Theresa inspired countless individuals to choose a life of service. She also proudly declared, “I think it is very beautiful for the poor to accept their lot… I think the world is being much helped by the suffering of the poor people.”
Martin Luther King probably did more to rally the American people against American Apartheid than any other single person. He also cheated on his wife with multiple women (and there is evidence that he may have been complicit in his friend committing sexual assault).
There are No Saints
There no saints.
There are no perfect people.
There are no perfect beacons of light and righteousness.
If you look for the bad in others (and yourself), you will find it.
If you find that depressing, you shouldn’t…
The truth is far more hopeful.
Imperfect people are capable of selfless acts.
Flawed humanity has within it the seeds of greatness.
Your past deeds do not have to dictate your future.
If you look for the good in others (and yourself), you will find it.
Reject simple dichotomies and illusions of perfect saintly people.
Humanity is far too complicated (and hope-filled) for that.
A fellow traveler,
Ryan
p.s. If you live in the United States and you are going to see extended family for Thanksgiving, you are about to get a great opportunity to practice seeing people as more complicated than “good” or “evil.”
