Content Warning
I know it sounds inane. I never thought I'd say this. But in this world, walking around with an open heart, and smiling at strangers, are acts of subversion.
That doesn't mean being a pushover. It means protecting softness, confronting evil, yet trying to not harden while doing so. And to have compassion for all the moments in which we try, yet fail to do so.
The alternative is: feeding the flames of rage. And get burnt doing so.