Believe It!

I see some people from time to time lamenting the state of the world right now. They wring their hands and make dire predictions and get rather dramatic. Now there's a lot of crap to deal with, it's not like those fears are completely unfounded. We have to be ever vigilant, and it's not an easy fight.

Everyday though, I see people I know post obituaries from friends where parents have lost their children to drug addiction. I see people I know that have lost their parents or siblings, people who were their best friends, and are still trying to come to terms with a life without them. I see people I know struggling with mental illness and depression, and anxiety and stress, and sometimes every day is a hurdle for them. I see people I know battling cancer, either in themselves or with a family member, or taking care of their parents suffering from alzheimer's or dementia. I see people I know battling addiction. I see people I know fostering children and fighting animal abuse. I see people I know dealing with domestic violence. I see people I know that have to rebuild their lives after a hurricane, and I see people I know now losing everything in the wildfires in California.

My heart breaks for all of them, but more importantly, I'm awed and inspired by their will to go on. They are brave and they are fierce. Somehow, through all that, they manage to pull it together, and they still find a way to smile or help others or just stand tall and be a decent human being in the face of tragedy and chaos.

And that's why I will never stop believing in humanity. That's why I'm not afraid of any politicians or neo Nazis or evil agendas. Anything or anyone that wants to cause harm or destroy this nation's ideals are going to have to go through the people I know, and the people I know are warriors.

I believe in my friends, and I believe in humanity. You should too.