So for our English class, we have to do a research paper on a movie based on historical event/people. For my paper, I chose Schindler's List. Reflecting upon it, I can only think of the amazing capability of human cruelty and courage.

Thanks to God, I have never experienced such cruelty as what the Jewish people and others experienced during the Holocaust. I have never seen, in person, such brutal cruelty. And I have never come even close to the physical pain that these people had to endure to survive.

I am completely incapable of wrapping my mind around the idea that humans have the capability of being so terribly abominable. I personally hold the belief that humans are naturally good and naturally evil. But when I try to comprehend how someone could be so evil that they would beat up, whip, torture, and kill their fellow human beings with no guilt or remorse, it makes me wonder just HOW MUCH we are capable of.

Is it hatred that drives our cruelty? Is it the quest and thirst for vengeance? Or is it that being the savage creatures we are we feel we can run wild and commit cold-blooded killings for no other reason than simply because we can?

But we can also be good, kind, generous and giving. While Schindler's List focuses on the "righteousness" of Oskar Schindler, there are many, many others that put THEIR own lives in jeopardy to extend a hand to a fellow human being.  There are people kind enough to save the lives of others at the cost of their own life.

I can sadly and disappointingly admit that if I were a non-Jew during the time of the Holocaust, I would not have helped any Jew (of course, this I cannot know for certain since I did not go through this experience). This is not for any other reason than that I am a coward. I care and fear for my life too much to put it in danger for the lives of strangers. So for this, my most highest respects for those courageous enough to put their own lives on the line for the lives of others.

The courage and kindness of the human heart are indescribable, priceless traits.

It is extraordinary circumstances that bring out the true nature of people.

Will you kill simply because you can? Will you coward in fear? Or will you have the courage to risk your life?