Who's in your corner
Everybody deserves the truth on their side. Everyone deserves to have the facts support them, whenever the facts can support them. Even the worst piece of shit deserves fairness, justice, and yes, even compassion.
I know this - I have to believe this, because I've been that piece of shit - and if you're honest with yourself, you probably have been too. There were times in your life when people said that you didn't deserve anything - not compassion, not truth - or even moments when you said it about yourself. I have to believe that a piece of shit is worth something, because I have seen so many beautiful things grow out of shit.
I have defended, or at least attempted to defend, the rights of so many, when I couldn't see anybody else who would, and people have called me all kinds of names, accused me of being a child molester, or telling me to kill myself. I don't hide from that degree of scorn - in fact, I welcome it. If that is the price of standing up for my fellow man, for defending the downtrodden, for lifting my brother from the mud, then I will pay it, a thousand times over. I will never stop paying it.
Compassion
I would be nothing in this world if not for the compassion of those who owed me nothing. Perhaps if you think carefully about your own experience on Earth, you can remember a few times that make you feel gratitude.
Why did all those people help us, when they had nothing to gain but a smile? There is something inside which makes them want to step out of their way to do good, to make foreigners feel at home, to offer hospitality to a stranger. If you think about those moments, could you ever say that what they did was wrong, that they shouldn't have done it? If you consider it, and analyse it from any number of perspectives, I think you'll find the same conclusion as I did - that these are the best parts of humanity.
The humble prison guard
There is a guard in a prison, escorting a prisoner, who was guilty of a heinous crime. Maybe he has every reason to treat the prisoner like shit, to hate him, beat him, subject him to torture, but he doesn't. He treats the prisoner with respect, because he knows he is ignorant of that man's journey, he can never say for sure that that man was guilty of the crime of which he was convicted, he knows intuitively that torture will instill animosity and make his job harder, and he knows that this man, being a prisoner is already receiving his punishment. Justice is being executed, and he feels no responsibility to unilaterally give a harsher punishment.
Fear itself
We have more to fear from fear than from love. Fearing too much, hating too much, showing people scorn, denying people the opportunity to speak, or to breathe - once you do these things, you never get to take them back. The presumption of innocence can always be overturned with later evidence, and people's liberties can always be restricted later. And yes, even if people take advantage of you, you can always replace what has been lost.
If I am to make a mistake, let it be of loving too much, caring too much, trusting too much. It's easy to run out of friends for being fearful, hateful, paranoid, angry, bitter, spiteful or selfish. For those who love too much, though they might be taken advantage of frequently, even constantly, they rarely need worry about food, shelter, nor money, nor even that their soul be nourished. The soul nourishes itself.
About me
My name is Kurt Robinson. I grew up in Australia, but now I live in Guadalajara, Jalisco. I write interesting things about voluntaryism, futurism, science fiction, travelling Latin America, and psychedelics. Remember to press follow so you can stay up to date with all the cool shit I post, and follow our podcast where we talk about crazy ideas for open-minded people, here: @paradise-paradox, and like us on Facebook here - The Paradise Paradox
Some other cool posts
Here are some other posts of mine to check out:
A healthy skepticism: A philosophical argument to question science, assuming such a thing as science exists
Freedom trumps fear: Everything you do is an act of liberty
Automation: An age of unseen prosperity