Fools of Good Heart

I woke up at about 1:20 pm this afternoon, even though I'd been planning on going to a play at a school (which was about a 50-minute drive away) at 2:00 today. I still went, but I got there about half an hour late.

I'd forgotten what a wonderful play The Curious Savage is. I've written about it before, in my post "The Ever-Present Sympton of Psychotic Thinking" in April of 07. The part that really made me think today was this short exchange between Mrs. Savage and Dr. Emmett :

DR. EMMETT. And who are the fools of good heart, Mrs. Savage?
MRS. SAVAGE. I'd say--those who gamble on people, and invest in kindness--those who doubt that position means privilege, or that manners mean morals. And, of course, the rebels with no fear of failure.
-The Curious Savage, by John Patrick

I would say that what the world really needs are more "fools of good heart": More people who are willing to take risks for the sake of others, have faith in humanity that may or may not have deserve it, and devote energy to helping others. More people who understand that pretenses have nothing to do with rights or value and that every human is worthy of love, whether they are rich or poor, part of a minority, or part of a majority.

What the worlds need is people are who are stupid enough to do the right thing no matter what.

And these people: They need to be bravely acting on their beliefs, not writing about them in a secret blog like me.

I've always thought it best to be a "fool of good heart," although I'd never thought of it in those specific terms before. I'm starting to have second thoughts now.

What do you think? Would being a "fool of good heart" ever really benefit anyone, or only get one into unnecessary trouble? Is it better to play it safe and avoid complications? Or should a person try to do the most good that they possibly can, even if there's a chance they'll get hurt or humiliated?

<3 o.