Overflight, 136

“The hardest task one can have is to continue to love his fellows despite all reasons he should not.
And the true sign of sanity and greatness is to so continue.
For the one who can achieve this, there is abundant hope.
For those who cannot, there is only sorrow, hatred and despair. And these are not the things of which greatness — or sanity or happiness are made.
A primary trap is to succumb to invitations to hate. …
Seeking to achieve any single desirable quality in life is a noble thing. The one most difficult — and most necessary — to achieve is to love one’s fellows despite all invitations to do otherwise. …
True greatness merely refuses to change in the face of bad actions against one — and a truly great person loves his fellows because he understands them.
After all, they are all in the same trap. Some are oblivious of it, some have gone mad because of it, some act like those who betrayed them. But all, all are in the same trap — the generals, the street sweepers, the presidents, the insane. They act the way they do because they are all subject to the same cruel pressures of this universe.
Some of us are subject to those pressures and still go on doing our jobs. Others have long since succumbed and rave and torture and strut like the demented souls they are.
We can at least understand the one fact that greatness does not stem from savage wars or being known. It stems from being true to one’s own decency, from going on helping others whatever they do or think or say and despite all savage acts against one, to persevere without changing one’s basic attitude toward Man.
… Why should one change and begin to hate just because others have lost themselves and their own destinies are too cruel for them to face?