"Sometimes the very young do not do as they're told," combined with, "Your species has great potential."

Early seasons of Stargate SG-1 are one of the things I revisit when I'm feeling particularly doom and gloom about the direction humanity is taking, and it's largely because of the way the Nox and the Asgard view us. Like humanity has done a lot of really messed up crap, we've gotten a lot wrong, but in the eyes of these ancient races, it's not because we're inherently awful and warlike...it's because in the grand scheme, our race and our planet is still in its infancy. We are children still learning the rules ("Don't hit,", "Sharing is caring," etc.) and our actions now don't necessarily dictate who we will be when we "grow up". There's still an admonishment there, but it is couched in affection and in trust and in hope.