It is lack of confidence that kills a civilization. We can destroy ourselves by cynicism and disillusion just as effectively as by bombs.
~ Kenneth Clark
To believe all men honest would be folly. To believe none so is something worse.
~ John Quincy Adams
And so we soldier on, trying to believe in people's good hearts & intentions, & that the racism & fury we feel so strongly is a passing whirlwind & not the ground we stand on.