11. DO NOT HARM A PERSON OF GOOD WILL.¹

     Despite the insistence of evil men that all men are evil, there are many good men around and women too.  You may have been fortunate enough to know some.

     Factually, the society runs on men and women of good will.  Public workers, opinion leaders, those in the private sector who do their jobs are, in the great majority, people of good will.  If they weren’t, they long since would have ceased to serve.

     Such people are easy to attack: their very decency prevents them from overprotecting themselves.  Yet the survival of most of the individuals in a society depends upon them.

     The violent criminal, the propagandist, the sensation-seeking media all tend to distract one’s attention from the solid, everyday fact that the society would not run at all were it not for the individuals of good will.  As they guard the street, counsel the children, take the temperatures, put out the fires and speak good sense in quiet voices, one is apt to overlook the fact that people of good will are the ones that keep the world going and Man alive upon this Earth.

     Yet such can be attacked and strong measures should be advocated and taken to defend them and keep them from harm, for your own survival and that of your family and friends depends upon them.

The way to happiness is
far more easily followed when
one supports people
of good will.

Definition of Terms for This Lesson

>advocate: to speak or write in support of; be in favor of.

>apt: likely

bearing: the manner in which one behaves or conducts oneself.

>decency: showing respect, kindness and fairness.

disposition: the combination of qualities that form one's normal frame of mind or characteristic attitude.

>opinion leaders: the persons in a group to whom others listen, whose opinion they accept, whom they trust and on whom they depend.

>propagandist: a person or group that spreads ideas, information or rumor to further their own cause and/or injure that of another, often without regard to truth.

>public workers: those employed by the government on activities intended for the benefit or use of the general public, such as in schools, public hospitals, public transportation systems, construction projects and the like.

strong measures: procedures, laws, courses of action or plans (to achieve a particular purpose) that are forceful and effective.

the private sector: the part of the economy of a country that is made up of companies and organizations that are not owned or controlled by the government.

¹will: bearing or attitude toward others; disposition. Traditionally, “men of good will” means those who mean well toward their fellows and work to help them.