One would always like to assume the best of others, for such belief inflates the perceived likelihood they will show honor, respect, and kindness, and thus not be utter pains in one's ass. How unfortunate that such a happy assumption is problematic.

The primary and obvious reason is that such daydreams are refuted by simple observation, but I shall reign in my enthusiastic cynicism and refrain from documenting the sad history of humanity's inhumanness. After all, "why people suck" is the third most cliche blog topic (following "what I did today" and "my poetic exhibition of teen angst"), and we've established how little interest I have in providing further examples of cliche to a world already swimming in predictability and stereotypes.

Instead, what is more troubling to me is that kindness and practicality are not always compatible. I can hardly fault a person for putting their own interests above my own, since I consider that the most intelligent and practical thing to do, yet I still wish they would act irrationally compassionate in my favor so that I would get what I want. This contradiction makes it necessary for me to choose between equally impossible options: liking irrational people or accepting that I won't always get my way.

I could always simply decide not to like anybody and to enjoy getting my way. But that would be so very cynical of me.