With all the recent violence in the news, it brings up the age old question of the “true nature” of humans-is man a vile and corrupt being, with a “heart of darkness,” or do we have morals and justice bred into our existence?

From a philosophical view, everyone from Hobbes to Locke have submitted views on humans. They range from being bound by societies’ morals, to once alone evil, to innately good. From a religious standpoint, the good majority of the most followed religions believe man is innately evil, and is cleansed only through passing “trials by fire,” if you will, such as marriage and baptism in Christianity.

While I would by no means criticize an entire religion for its beliefs or practices, why cleanse someone of a deed they haven’t or, haven’t yet committed?

I don’t believe man is evil.  I do believe humans are shaped by surroundings and their family.  There are many who grow corrupt because of surroundings and familial reasons, but I do not believe man is born evil-he is raised evil.

And yes, it is unfortunate that families, many times unknown to the members, raise a woman or man to commit such crimes.  A deep set emotionally based turmoil caused by the nature vs nurture phenomenon. But, while it is unfortunate, it is a truth we are all made to deal with through such crimes against humanity like Boston or Columbine, committed by these deeply troubled beings.

And it pains me to see all of this violence.

In one particular instance, men committed crime are not made in the same phenomenon as nature vs nurture, but in the name of their God.  In that regard, 9/11 made a very large impression on my childhood and my outlook on life as a whole.

As a child, I grew up in New Jersey and lived just across the river from New York-I was born there in fact-and I lived through that September day, gazing at the TV, not understanding how or why anyone could do that. And I worried. I worried for my father, who worked downtown, I worried for the men and women my father worked with.  I worried for the man who would smile at me and give me candy when my father wasn’t looking, for the woman who gave me small toys to play with while I gazed out at the Statue of Liberty from my father’s office, and most of all, I worried for the future of the city.

Admittedly, I was in kindergarten-the afternoon class, I remember because I didn’t go in that day-and I have quite possibly one of the worse memories any being has ever had, but even as time has dulled the images down to simply feelings, I can still feel my heart beat speed up as I think about the images shown on the colorful box that day.

It still feels surreal to visit family in New Jersey and to board the ferry to New York to see not the Twin Towers but the Freedom Tower being built in their place-to look upon the skyline and see it differently because of a handful of people and a small sect of a religion’s ideals. But I still believe man is good, because I remember seeing all of the firefighters, policemen and women, and all of the plain old average people helping each other that day. People who didn’t know each other holding each other and making sure they all got out of the area ok, diving into the wreckage to search for survivors; how can one look upon the reaction to such a terrible accident and see man, as a whole, evil?

Sit yourself down, and go to Yahoo!, CNN, any site or television channel that has recent news, and you’ll see all of the stories of the survivors of the Boston Bombing helping others, be it by dragging them out of the area or just so much as words of encouragement when someone needed them most.  I think because of this, you’ll understand why I believe man is good.