Inherently good? Can politics and good be used in the same sentence?

A couple of nights ago in my Counseling Development class my classmates were talking about how they have realized over the last week that people are inherently good. They said even when you think of the worst person you can imagine, they have at least one speck of goodness within them. Even at this point I kind of disagreed, but kept it to myself. Later, as I was watching the Obama speech, I was talking to my husband about how I just don't know if I believe this philosophy to be true. There are different schools of philosophy that argue both sides of this coin and I think either cynicism or life experience has led me to believe that, like any generalization, you just can't lump everyone into that profile. My husband was surprisingly in favor of the mass generalization of everyone being naturally good, which is weird because he is generally more cynical than I am; however, I sometimes think he purposefully chooses the opposite side of me just for sport. ;) He thinks that even Hitler must have had a twinge of guilt - I disagree and any guilt he would have felt seems like it would have been derived from a selfish nature.

On a somewhat related note I just finished John Grisham's book the Last Juror, which takes place in the 70's and focuses a great deal on African Americans' lives in those years. Having the narrator describe his small town where there were two cafes, one for blacks and one for whites, makes me realize how cruel our society was to a group of individuals who did nothing to deserve such treatment. It would be one thing if you said well, that was just after slavery and they were making progress at that point, but let's be honest here - slavery had ended some 100 years prior to that. Most of the founders of slavery were long gone at this point in time; yet society was stilling pulling much of the same crap. Besides, we as a society always dismiss slavery as some Neanderthal event in some past life in which the people did not know better, but these weren't cave men enslaving other human beings. We're talking about dignified men who dressed in suits and women who decorated themselves in lavish dresses and lived in extravagant homes. In other words, these were people that were educated and knew better. They knew the difference between right and wrong just as well as we do now - well most of us. So when these people continued to treat people this way, were they "good" so to speak? It's hard for me to relate to this behavior.

While the Last Juror isn't the most gripping novel, it has definitely been thought-provoking. The author describes a woman who was the first black woman in her county to register to vote and was the first black woman to be on a jury. She was discouraged from registering to vote by the local white people who didn't realize she was an educated person who realized what they were doing to deter her. Although I realize this is fiction, I can't help but think of how there were real-life people at some point who were the first of their counties to vote, to sit on a jury, or whatever else. The pride they must have felt being the first to take a step forward, but the anger they must have felt of not being able to have done it sooner. The weird thing is that you never hear about anger from these groups, well I don't anyway. I know I would have been angry; I still do feel angry whenever I realize as a woman I am being held back because of my gender or being told the world isn't ready for Hilary Clinton because she is a girl. Excuse me? Instead of focusing on her issues and her platform, people ranted on about her array of pantsuits and how ugly they were. I can't remember the last time I heard about McCain's clothing choices. Who cares? Even Seinfeld made fun of her clothes when I saw him live in Denver.

So as I was watching Obama, despite the absence of any racial message from him, I was wondering how he feels about making history - about taking a huge step forward for a group of people that have been shoved a million steps back over the years. He has not focused on these issues, but I know these thoughts must be going through his head. I wonder if he is happy, scared, concerned, anxious, or maybe even a little overwhelmed by the pressure of being a spokesperson for two hundred or more years of people who have been told they "can't" - men and women, black and white, young or old. I wonder if he believes people are inherently good when Denver has been bustling with more security than I have ever seen and dealing with threats of KKK members and other lunatics. I get sad thinking of his poor girls who may not even know how idiotic and atrocious people can be and the danger their dad faces. I am not sure I would put my daughter through that. He is already so much braver than me just by getting up in front of 80,000 people and giving a speech (which I would never do!). He was as cool as a cucumber!

So, what's the right answer to the question of innate "goodness" in humankind? I don't know. I don't even know how the majority feels about this issue. I asked a relative who works in law enforcement and he feels that a lot of that kind of thing has to do with people's surroundings. So, does that mean he doesn't believe it is innate? I have to seriously give the whole "inherently good" thing some thought because as this point, I am just not sure. I am not trying to be negative, but I think in order to help people, we need to be able to understand their true capabilities. Maybe I have to believe people can all have some goodness in order to believe they can all be helped? Hmm... maybe I just changed my mind? Ughh? Or maybe it's all about the surroundings and less about what is inside of people? Also, what happens when one has to factor religious thoughts into the whole concept. Does God make people good? What about the people that aren't then? What happened to them? See my frustration? I think I need to do what my professor keeps telling us: Get out of our minds and think from a place deeper inside ourselves. Easier said than done!

Anyway, in the mean time...while my preferred candidate lost (I mean, come on! We need to reform health care!), I am happy to step up and be proud of the other person who wants to see a change - who embodies change by simply accepting his nomination; however, I do have to say that I would really like to see a specific plan of action in the next few months because candidates are always spouting these lofty goals without backing them up. I am hoping this will be different. The thing is, as with Hilary, the more they promise and the less they follow through, the more likely the other side will blame this on their gender or color. Just like when Hilary was caught crying during her campaign and people said "See, women are weak." These groups have more to prove. So I hope Obama can rid our country of foreign oil dependency in 10 years and all of his other goals, but that seems lofty even for an environmentalist. I don't want this promise to go down in history like Nixon's promise to win the war against cancer some 30-40 years ago. We all know how well that worked. : ( Obama is not Nixon though; I mean, for one, he is a democrat and so already his party has a better track record of improving the economy.

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Otherwise in my life, last night's classes went really well. Although I swear I have to bring tape for my mouth because I am too quick to answer questions when no one else will. I always feel bad for the professor to hear that awkward silence of asking something and to not hear from anyone. Not that she cares; she is probably used to it. I have this one professor who is most likely the coolest professor I have had. She has this wild, surfer girl look and an attitude that matches...almost. She is a PhD. student, so she is like a surfer girl with an abnormally large brain. Anyway, she is cool and is making ethics actually seem like an interesting subject. I have taken several ethics classes, etc. and usually I am trying to hold my head up to keep from nodding off and her class just isn't like that!

In my other class we are practicing our skills, but it is tough for me because it involves talking about personal issues face to face with someone. It's weird... I can ramble on here to no one in particular for hours, but have the hardest time talking about this stuff in person. I am learning though and I am breaking down some of my walls in the process.