Good question, because he was laboring under a really big fundamental misconception:
"but what I do know, is that if the human spirit is inherently good"
That line caught my attention, as well...fifty or sixty years ago; you might have made a credible argument for that statement. The tipping point toward the pit of hell came when the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob was thrown out of the classroom. Since there are so few of a like mind here in Red England, I find peace in the garden this time of year. (Salsa addiction; the hotter, the better...what can I say?)