I will respectfully disagree, Jess.
Name one good thing that has been created or maintained by cruelty or meanness. I think it is possibly because you view the power to destroy as being more powerful than the power to create. If cruelty and meanness always wins then nothing would exist. Everything would be destroyed or subverted to a hostile franchise. And this, we know is not always the case. There are educational systems that seek to create a critically thinking individual rather than a automaton of industry, and these could not have been created or facilitated through cruelty. Indeed it would seem that cruelty-sponsored educational systems would undermine the individual to the point of extreme debasing. Are there some educational systems like this? Yes, of course. But generally such educational systems are eventually torn down and replaced with more caring and kind educational systems that are in favor of teaching the individual self-empowerment.
Political systems are sometimes created or facilitated through cruelty. But these political systems destroy individual rights, undermine economic independence, and enforce slavery upon their peoples. They kill, maim, brutalize and terrorize their citizens. But generally such political systems are eventually torn down and replaced with more caring and kind political systems that are in favor of helping the individual to reclaim his or her individual rights, funding private enterprise and enabling the independent growth thereof, and releasing their peoples from the tyranny of debt.
Religious systems are sometimes created or facilitated through cruelty. They dominate the masses by thought control, insist upon dogmatic principles and terrorize those whom express otherwise. But generally, such religious systems are eventually town down and replaced with more caring and kind religious systems that are in favor of embracing changes in thought and cognitive diversity, are willing to free those that they can from dogmatic ritual and embrace the discovery of true spirituality in the face of hardships, and otherwise look forward to the engagement of the human mind in the complexity of its soul.
There are cruel systems in place throughout the world, but they are not "winning", and if they were, I would be questioning what exactly it is that they were winning. For the most part such systems are like cruel individuals, they are consumed by the negativity that broils within them and have less and less interest in the genuine goodness of man. Sometimes we forget our spiritual nature, but that does not mean that the spiritual nature is not present, or that it is not still acting on our behalf.
I can remember a story where a Buddhist would not leave his meditation spot, even when the rest of the village was fleeing from a warlord known for his cruelty. When the warlord's forces marched into the village, he remained where he was, quietly meditating in the lotus position. When the warlord thundered in himself on the back of a huge horse, he remained where he was, quietly meditating in the lotus position. The warlord did not like this monk that refused to move in the face of his power. He drew out his spear and held it to the monk's throat.
"Do you not realize that I can pierce your body with this spear and kill you, making all your meditations meaningless?"
The monk looked up peacefully and replied.
"Do you not realize that I can let you pierce my body with your spear and make all your killing meaningless?"
The warlord took his forces and left the village.
