From Cruelty to Goodness

     In Philip Hallie's article, From Cruelty to Goodness, Hallie starts off by describing the research he's done on negative ethics. He learned all about the different definitions of cruelty which eventually led him to study the hurting of human beings. Many times throughout history, there have been moments where one group of people are stripped from all human qualities and treated like animals. Whether it be the Holocaust or slavery, Hallie paints us a picture of cruelty towards the victim. We would think that kindness is the opposite of cruelty, but Hallie explains that it is not. The only good that can come out of cruelty is freedom. The people of Le Chambon were able to give the Jews freedom as they kept treated the children like their own. As Hallie went further in his research, he realized that good can come out of evil. It's the matter of choosing to look for the goodness or not.
     I enjoyed the examples Hallie gave as he talked about cruelty and goodness. It painted a clear image to what it must of been like during those times. It was confusing when Hallie mentioned that kindness is not the opposite of cruelty because it's true in a sense. A Nazi for instance can be kind for one day and then totally change the next day. Kindness doesn't guarantee freedom, which was mind boggling as I read that passage over a couple times. I think it's important that Hallie included the story of the villagers in Le Chambon. It reflects that their is hope for humanity and it teaches us how to act when others are in need. Hopefully from these experiences and these articles such as Philip Hallie's From Cruelty to Goodness we can learn to overcome nature's evils.