On finishing last

I know this is true. I know we do. I know that the world generally tears us apart, chews up the pieces, and spits out the bones. I know it's thankless. I know it's mostly unappreciated. I know that, in all likelihood, I'll be bitter and regretful when I'm fifty.

I also know it's necessary. I know I can't see a friend walk home when I could pay for the cab ride. I know I can't ignore it, when a friend is in pain, and I can do anything at all to help.

I have to believe the world needs us. That we make a difference, however small. That we make an impact, somehow. I have to believe that we have meaning, that all things we do have meaning, with or without a God to watch over us, and that to do the right thing is important not because it ensures a place in some paradisial afterlife, but because the world is made a better place because of it.

I was reading "A People's History of America" today - borrowed slightly from Jeremy - and I need to believe that in spite of our...self-centeredness, our greed, our pride, our egocentrism, somewhere deep inside we all of us know what's right, and we all of us are ultimately important in a deep and personal way.