Are We Hard-Wired For Goodness?

Did you know that we are born to be good? That’s hard to believe when we look around at what is happening in the world today. Nevertheless. right in the middle of a Black Lives Matter protest, while the British police just stood there looking on, from the middle of the angry crowd, Patrick Hutchinson, a black man showed his goodness by rescuing a white man believed to be a far-right demonstrator.

It seems that babies and toddlers start out with goodness. Are you as surprised as I was to learn that babies and infants will help others toward their goals and will even cooperate toward a shared goal? That’s what researchers at Yale University found out.* Do we need to go back that far to find our goodness?

Mr. Hutchinson, a personal-trainer and grandfather seeing the danger the far-right demonstrator suspect was in, hoisted the threatened white man onto his shoulder with a fireman carry and walked with him through the angry crowd to safety. He’s being called a hero in England. Here’s a link to a photo.

In my last blog, I wrote about victims, victimizers, and the “victim-victimizer swing” (You may remember that as far as you go as victim, you will go equally far as victimizer.) Thanks to Patrick Hutchison, at that protest in England, there were no victims and the victim-victimizer swing was stopped for one white man.

What about you and me? No way I could put a man on my shoulder. But I can speak the truth with compassion when called for. Imagine how it would be if we made an effort to stay connected to the best of who we are, speaking honestly with compassion. Even at a corporate level, companies like IDEO, a global design company, are doing just that.

“It is our responsibility to be a positive force in the movement for racial equality and justice. Read more about our commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion across IDEO in the following five focus areas: talent, training, community, design, and culture. We are on a learning journey and welcome your feedback.”

So, how can we express the goodness in us? We can look for opportunities to be the best of who we are. We can speak and act with honesty and with compassion for others and ourselves. We can recognize the victim-victimizer swing and choose to be learner/problem-solvers instead. We all have some Patrick Hutchison in us.

*Warneken, F. and Tomasello, M. Helping and Cooperation at 14 Months of Age. 03 February 2010. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7078.2007.tb00227.x