What's Beneath the Rhetoric? Mark Twain Answers the Question
As we continue to stroll down the path of some of us in thrall with the myth of American Exceptionalism and a few others in disgust at the country we have become despite all the riches and advantages otherwise, it occurs to me that behind the rhetoric there is so much unspoken which reveals our darkest intents.
...that when you spend time helping the truly broken—the ones who require more patience than seems reasonable—you walk away with two revelations: how much of yourself still works, and how vital the fragile thread of kindness is that holds people together.