An inflated estimation of human nature capsizes love for one’s neighbor. If you assume that people are basically levelheaded and evenhanded, they will exasperate you when they make odd and self-defeating decisions instead of virtuous ones. […]
Confusion and disappointment at another person’s behavior lead to judgment, judgment leads to anger, and anger leads to antagonism. Before you know it, the world has quietly divided into two groups: the honest, sensible people “like me” and the ignorant and foolish ones “over there.” The bifurcations multiply the further we travel from humility. We may even grow bitter at the world for its failure to conform to our notions of propriety.