At the Core People are Good

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ben_dunlap_talks_about_a_passionate_life.html

I really liked his tidbit about the human desire and quest for learning and that it is this zeal to quench the thirst of curiosity that makes life worth living.

Of course, one might argue that's a very western way of thinking (I've been reading Geography of Thought) and that the Easterners have a completely different take on that...as well as the need for personal responsibility and happiness, but whatever. There was a time when I would really try to synthesize all forms of thought into this single mind of mine, but the fact of the matter is that I happen to be a westerner. I was born and raised in Kansas and as a result, I enjoy spending my days asking and contemplating the hows and why's, no matter how impractical or inapplicable they seem.

Woot for curiosity!