Robert A. Heinlein opens by setting aside religious belief to speak of things so obvious they have fallen out of fashion to mention. He believes in his neighbors. He knows their faults, but he knows their virtues far outweigh them. Father Michael down the road, whose creed Heinlein does not share, shows goodness, charity and loving kindness in his daily actions, and Heinlein would go to him in trouble. His next-door neighbor, a veterinary doctor, gets out of bed after a hard day to help a stray cat, with no fee and no prospect of one.
Heinlein believes in his townspeople. Knock on any door and say "I'm hungry," and you will be fed. He has found the same ready charity everywhere. Even hitchhiking, despite all the warnings, works: a car or truck soon stops and someone says, "Climb in, Mac." For every person who says "To heck with you," he notes, there are a hundred or a thousand who say, "Sure, pal, sit down."
He believes in his fellow citizens. Headlines are full of crime, yet for every criminal there are 10,000 honest, decent, kindly people. Without them, no child would grow up and business could not go on from day to day. Decency is not news; it is buried in the obituaries, but it is a force stronger than crime. He also believes in the patient gallantry of nurses, the tedious sacrifices of teachers, the honest craft of workmen who built Independence Hall and the Grand Coulee Dam level and square, and the quiet daily struggles in almost every home.
Heinlein believes that almost all politicians are honest, hundreds of them doing their best for little pay or none, without thanks. Finally, he believes in his whole race, in the honesty, courage, intelligence and goodness of the overwhelming majority of humanity. We have come this far by the skin of our teeth, he writes, and we will always make it. Humanity will endure, will spread to the stars carrying its honesty, curiosity, courage and decency. This I believe.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing