By Sean Keagan Foley

People are messy. People are complicated.

I know that. I’ve lived it. I have seen the darkest corners of our nature, through my own story, and through stories and experiences as a social worker and psychotherapist. I am not naïve. I know what anger and trauma can do. I know what grief can unleash.

But I also know this: People are good.

In today’s world, saying that almost sounds radical. Look around. The news, the algorithms, the politics, everything is pushing us toward anger. Because anger is easy. Division is easy. Tribalism is easy.

Anger is reflexive.

Fear is reflexive.

Division is reflexive.

They rise up fast, before thought, before reflection. They have kept us alive through centuries of struggle, but in our modern world of noise and speed, those same reflexes can drown us, in retribution, in outrage, in endless cycles of us versus them.

But compassion?

Compassion is slow.

Compassion is work.

Compassion is hard.

And yet, being human means choosing the harder thing. Because the harder thing is almost always the right thing.

Just yesterday, I was reminded of the good in others not in a headline or a debate, but in a simple moment of my life. I was out with my daughter at a local event as she learned to walk. She stumbled forward, pushing her little cart, wobbling step by step. And all around her, people of every walk of life, every belief, carrying different stories of happiness and failures, loss, love, pain, and joy, what did they do? They smiled. They clapped. They cheered her on. For a moment, there were no sides, no labels, no walls. Just kindness. Just humanity.

It was a profound moment, at a time when our nation, our state, and even our communities feel torn at the seams. A kernel of evidence about our good nature  in a misinformed and outrage-fueled information ecosystem.

I have seen this same truth time and time again while doing the “Walking Garwood initiative”, knocking on doors, listening to neighbors, hearing their anger, their struggles, and their hopes. People of every party, of every affiliation, were kind and respectful. They were willing to share their experiences, their frustrations, and their fears.

Does that mean that all those people will end up agreeing with me and supporting me? Probably not. That is not what mattered to me. What mattered was listening, supporting ,helping and honor the stories and concerns people were willing to share. In retrospect, maybe deep down I needed them more than they needed me. Maybe I needed them to keep my cynicism at bay, to keep hope alive in a world too often drowning in division. And I hope I offered them the same in some small way.

And this truth, the truth about the good nature we possess, stands out at a time when that very notion feels under attack. In a world drowning in disinformation and anger, where narcissists scream, where sociopaths shout, and where the constant barrage of outrage hits us from all directions, it will remain with me. It is something I will keep, no matter how loudly the world tries to bury it.

So I humbly ask all of you, to look around at the compassion and care others offer. Your screens will tell you otherwise. The cynics will tell you differently. But you will see it with your own eyes. It’s right in front of you.

So I will close out with what may feel like a radical notion in today’s world, but one I see with my own eyes every day:

People are good. 

People are good. 

People are good. 

Sean Keagan Foley

Councilman, Borough of Garwood

Eagleton Fellow 2015