“In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can’t build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery, and death. I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness, I hear the ever approaching thunder, which will destroy us too, I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again.” - Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl
In my mind I turn to this Anne Frank quote frequently. I use it as a talisman to ward off pessimistic thoughts about the state of humanity. If a 13/14 year old in hiding from genocidal fascists who would eventually cause her death in a concentration camp could find it in herself to maintain this sentiment, then I can certainly stand to look for the best in people; or, rather, do whatever small part I can to promote kindness over cruelty, justice over injustice, and tolerance over intolerance.
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