Historical Evidence Proves Humans Are Better Than We Assume

You remember what it felt like after 9/11. Humans stepped up to the occasion. We were more pleasant and communal than we’d give ourselves credit for today (and by a large margin).  Furthermore, we are the same exact people as those we stepped up after 9/11.

If I’m being honest, the reason I’m writing on this topic is that I recently finished a biography of General Sherman who led more than 100,000 men to victory over the Confederates in the American Civil War. 

On a particularly decisive stretch towards the end of the way, Sherman famously marched 60,000 men more than 400 miles through Georgia to all but seal victory for the Union. Think of the humanity in this effort. These gentlemen marched every day toward perpetual danger with one pair of clothes, no real bedding, and minimal supplies. 

The humanity that pulled this off is inside of all of us today. 

There are many examples from these to the moon landing to D-Day and beyond that are irrefutable evidence, in my opinion, of a truer understanding of human potential. Most of us feel that making it through traffic is tough or that getting up early is a test. And, while I share the sentiment at times, context is anything.

You’ve got to know deep down that your ancestral lineage and what you’re made from is a willpower that would shock any observer. Don’t forget it.