{"id":3602,"date":"2025-01-04T13:36:48","date_gmt":"2025-01-04T04:36:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shepherblog.com\/?p=3602"},"modified":"2025-03-30T11:55:59","modified_gmt":"2025-03-30T02:55:59","slug":"discovering-the-goodness-in-humanity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/openendedproject.com\/en\/discovering-the-goodness-in-humanity\/","title":{"rendered":"Discovering the Goodness in Humanity"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Imagine walking into a supermarket when suddenly a powerful earthquake strikes. Shelves collapse, products scatter, and the electricity goes out. In that moment, what do you think the strangers around you would do?<\/p>

Would people help each other, guiding others to safety or comforting distressed children? Or would chaos break out, with everyone focused solely on themselves, scrambling for supplies and pushing their way out of the store?<\/p>

Many might instinctively believe that people would prioritize their own safety, even at the expense of others\u2014much like the dramatic scenes we often see in movies. However, the real world might be warmer and more compassionate than we imagine.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

We Often Underestimate the Good in People<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, media coverage initially flooded the news with reports of looting, violence, and disorder in the affected areas. Yet, later investigations revealed a different reality\u2014one filled with stories of residents helping one another, sharing resources, and volunteers stepping in to provide aid.<\/p>

After the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, evacuees in shelters maintained order despite severe shortages. People patiently lined up for supplies, and some even gave their blankets to the elderly or children to protect them from the cold.<\/p>

Dutch historian Rutger Bregman<\/b>, in his book\u00a0Humankind<\/a>, highlights how during World War II, Allied forces bombed German cities in an attempt to crush morale through fear and chaos, hoping it would lead to surrender. Surprisingly, post-war studies showed that the psychological resilience of the bombed citizens was stronger than expected\u2014sometimes even more so than in areas untouched by the attacks.<\/p>

In extreme situations, rather than descending into panic, people often become more united and willing to support each other. Our instincts frequently misjudge human nature, assuming that crises breed selfishness. Yet, cooperation and solidarity are deeply ingrained in our genes.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Why Have We Become Increasingly Negative?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

To be fair, it might not be entirely our fault.<\/p>

The human brain is wired to be more sensitive to \u201cbad news.\u201d This psychological tendency, known as Negativity Bias<\/a>, is an evolutionary survival mechanism designed to alert us to danger and prevent repeated mistakes.<\/p>

Every day, we are bombarded with reports of scams, theft, and instances where good people are framed or deceived. Rarely do we see stories highlighting neighbors helping each other or strangers assisting the elderly across the street.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

The Precious Traits of Humanity: Empathy and Trust<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

If we truly lived in a world driven entirely by coldness and selfishness, our society wouldn\u2019t function as smoothly as it does.<\/p><\/blockquote>

We swipe credit cards, shop online, use delivery services, and board airplanes\u2014all relying on trust in strangers. If humanity were genuinely untrustworthy, these systems simply wouldn\u2019t work.<\/p>

Trust and empathy are the invisible forces that keep the world running.<\/p>

While negative examples may occasionally surface, remember\u2014there are far more people willing to lend a hand than you might think. As James Clear<\/b>, the author of Atomic Habits,<\/em>\u00a0once said:<\/p>

Bad things are always happening loudly: the injury, the flat tire, the mistake that gets you criticized. Everybody talks about the moments that make things a hassle.<\/p>

Good things are always happening quietly: the completed workout, the healthy meal, the ten minutes of writing. Nobody talks about the little moments that add up.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let’s discover more positive things in New Year. <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3620,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11,84,82,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-articles","category-english","category-daily-digest","category-social-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openendedproject.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openendedproject.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openendedproject.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openendedproject.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openendedproject.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3602"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/openendedproject.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3623,"href":"https:\/\/openendedproject.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3602\/revisions\/3623"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openendedproject.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openendedproject.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openendedproject.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openendedproject.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}