On September 11, 2001, Scientist Stephen Jay Gould witnessed one of the most traumatic events in the United States of America. Gould had written an article on September 26, 2001, after the terrorist attack that brought down the World Trade Center towers in New York City, New York. Gould titled his article “A Time of Gifts” after he saw the amount of people coming together to help out after the traumatic event. Gould made a claim called the Great Asymmetry. His main idea behind the Great Asymmetry is that every spectacular incident of evil will be balanced by ten thousand acts of kindness, too often unnoted and invisible as the “ordinary” efforts of a vast majority. The Great Asymmetry led to Gould’s claim that good people outnumber the bad people. Because of egos, violence, and current events Gould is incorrect in his claim that most people in society are good.

Egos are one reason I must disagree with Gould. First of all, according to worldatlas.com there are between one hundred eighty-nine to one hundred ninety-six countries in the world. This means that each country would have its own type of government. Having a government also means that there is someone who has been put in place to run it. The government’s person in charge or leader can be someone who is arrogant and bossy. This person can cause problems for the country. That is why the country should be careful who they vote on, if they are allowed to vote. Additionally, since many world leaders have their different opinions and ideas this will lead them to wanting to have their way. Each individual leader will not always want to abide by the law when it comes to making decisions because some of them can be selfish. Along with, a change in society many people will either be for or against certain leaders. Society today is very outspoken and is willing to go above and beyond to make a change. Even though many people will disagree on society having a huge impact on making certain decisions, but with some thought they could see that a change in society is an issue. Then, they can believe that Gould’s claim is an incorrect statement, just as I do.
Violence is the second reason as to why I disagree with Gould. As a result, in today’s society there are people dying every day. Many people are dying because they are being murdered. In Montgomery, Alabama, there have been a total of thirty-eight homicides this year so far. Not to mention, that many people own weapons such as guns, knives, and explosives that are a contributing factor to the death rate. According to gunpolicy, there are between two hundred seventy million to three hundred ten million guns owned by civilians in the United States of America. In addition, anger has always been a factor to violence. Many people will lose their temper and then reach for a gun instead of walking away from a situation. I will concede that many people will disagree on people owning weapons and on people being angry as factors to violence, but with some thought they could see that violence is a serious problem. Then, again they can believe that Gould’s claim is an incorrect statement, just as I do.

Current Events is the third reason as to why I disagree with Gould. As a matter of fact, what I see on Cable News Network’s (CNN) website would be a current event that I see daily. When I get on the internet at home the home page I set up is CNN. CNN will always have the news or breaking news posted on their home page. Lately some of the news that has been posted has not been good news. Lately on the news there has been talk of a government shutdown. Furthermore, what I see on WSFA 12 News in the morning on television would be another current event that I see daily. Watching the news on television is another way for me to see and hear about all the bad news that goes on in the world. Likewise, people can be a source of information when at home, work, or school. People also tend to get information across quickly, especially if they have a cell phone. I understand that many will disagree on current events being a reason to show that many people in the world are evil, but with some thought they can see that there are many bad events taking place and whatever happens will always s be on the news. Then, once more they can believe that Gould’s claim is an incorrect statement, just as I do.


Yes, there are countless good people in the world. Gould made his claim about the Great Asymmetry when he witnessed one of the most traumatic events known as 9/11. Because of his claim, many people will say that there are an abundance of people out in the world willing to do good. But that does not mean anything to me when egos, violence, and currents events are issues that we face daily and cause me to believe otherwise.