I believe in the goodness of people. We live in a world where when you turn on the television or open up a newspaper all you see are stories that are focused upon death, destruction or war. When you hear for the fifth time about a gruesome murder or the turmoil in the Middle East, it is easy to think, “What has happened to this world? Where has all the goodness disappeared to?”
On September 11, 2001 the United States was attacked by the terrorist group Al Qaida. The attack was motivated because of the hatred that they felt and it showed the extremes to which some people would go. However in the midst of all of that hatred, the goodness of people shone through. On this day the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) rushed into burning, collapsing buildings to give others, strangers, a second chance at life. My best friend’s father was a serving New York City fire chief at the time and he was a part of the cleanup process from the attacks. He was surrounded everyday with the destruction that came from the hatred. However, every day he would come back home and tell my best friend and I stories of how people would come together to help each other out. An already incredibly close firehouse became even closer. The firemen were helping each other physically, mentally and emotionally. Also civilians were doing what they could. The little things, such as store owners giving the firefighters free food or water, would make a huge difference in their day.
I believe that for every story that is bad there is another extraordinary one that is good. Because of these stories and others that I have heard about the goodness of people, I have to believe it is still out there.