Monday, August 10, 2009

I've Seen All Good People

"I've seen all good people turn their heads each day so satisfied, I'm on my way"...That is a line from a classic Yes song, and after nearly 40 years, I still don't know what to make of it...or maybe that was the idea, Jon Anderson who wrote the line, and has always said, "it's open to interpretation.."
Well, fair enough...When he referred to all good people turning their heads, did he mean turning their heads away from being good? and being a pop star during that time in all of its decadence, was he on his way too? or were all the good people turning their heads to something better, a greater good?...that is the question and it pretty much summarizes everyone, turn their heads to good or evil, or somewhere in between?
I think good and evil exists in everyones' soul, whether we acknowledge it or not...and I don't necessarily mean this in a religious sort of way, but more in a biological way which is more secular, but if you want to apply religion, then so be it, it still works...because I have come to believe there is good in everyone, and Good usually wins. Because if there wasn't Good, none of us would be here....
Of course, there's the sociopaths, the serial killers, and the truly bad people out there, filled with violence and hate, and terrible crimes...what got in to them to commit those things?
Not to mention Adolf Hitler...one of the biggest thugs in history...who can stop these people? Well, Good people do...Hitler was destroyed, and criminals go to jail...well, most do...
Anyway, I think that most people have Good in them, people who just want to get along and help when they can, because I think it's hard wired in the human psyche that it's better to be good, it's better to help out, because it just means survival in the long run...
During an accident, the first thing people do is jump out and help the injured...
In war, soldiers help their buddies, even though they just blasted the enemy, whether or not the blasted enemy was 'evil' is only relative....especially those German kids in WWII who only got drafted towards the end...those frightened kids were not evil, but got swept up in a bigger Evil.
When I worked at the store, where the policy was, 'World Class Customer Service' I experienced quite a cross section of people coming through the line...from the wealthy who lived up on the hills above Santa Rosa, to the gang bangers who lived down below...each customer came through the line with a certain personality and attitude, I don't know whether it was because it was simply a grocery store, but everyone was Good, usually...aside from the cranky customers, crackpots and old coots mostly...I saw everyones' good side, even the gangbangers, their polite side...maybe because they were gathering food, an age old human ritual...and all the while I tried to remain Good, even though sometimes I wanted to commit murder...
But that made them happy for the time being, and Good.

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