Adversity Bringing the Best or Worst in People

Horace once stated that “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.” This statement could not have been any more truthful. The bad can and does bring out the best in people this can be seen in today’s current events and throughout history. The worst tends to bring out the best in people.  

To begin with, the good that is brought out from a bad situation can be seen in today's society. Currently there is a national pandemic of the disease COVID-19 but this pandemic hasn’t stopped people from giving back. It can be stated that because of Covid  many people became more sanitary and healthy. This shows that because of a deadly virus people have stepped up and made changes to help benefit not only themselves but the health of other people by being more sanitary. To continue even though COVID-19 has seperated many families and friends. Companies have stepped in and created ways to keep these families in touch. One company that has done this is Zoom. Zoom is an online meeting platform like skype. Zoom has made it possible for many students to attend school and has allowed many families to remain connected through the harsh time of the pandemic. 

To continue history consists of great examples on how a bad event has brought out the best in people. A prime example of this happened with the hurricanes that hit in 2004 and 2005. Among these hurricanes was hurricane katrina. During Hurricane Katrina, the gulf coast got hit hard and washed away people's positions. The employees of Hancock Bank in mississippi came together to collect money, dry it, and give it out to anyone who needed it. This selfless act helped many people to survive during the rough time. Going back further into history during the time of civil unrest between races Martin Luther King Jr. stepped up and gave a speech on the civil unrest. This selfless act would later get him assassinated on April 4, 1968, by James Earl Ray. Even before that Roosevelt created food stamps to help the needy get food during the great depression. Roosevelt didn’t have to create the stamps but he saw that the country was suffering and needed a way to get help so he created the Food stamp. 

Some can state that bad situations only bring out the worst in people. This can be seen with the riots that took place this past summer following the Black Live Matter movement. However this is not the case. The people that were looting and rioting were using the movement as an excuse to do so. The death of George Floyd never promoted the acts of looting and rioting the people took that into their own hands. To conclude, a bad event like the death of an individual doesn’t prompt the bad to come to people. That bad is always inside of those people but they choose to expel it based on the bad event rather than turn that energy into something great.   

In conclusion, the statement made by Horace that “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant” holds to be true. A bad event shows the true good in a person that would have been hidden if there was no event in the first place. To conclude the worst things that happen to a person can in return emit a positive bright side of a person that they may never even knew existed.