Why the Dove Represents a Better Humanity

The "ravenous" raven was stymied by his own suspiciousness; the Midrash goes so far as to say that he refused to do his mission because he feared that in his absence, Noach was going to play around with his wife. And so, he circled the ark, fearfully, making sure he wouldn't catch them in the act itself. 

The dove had no such fears, perhaps personified by the fact that our sages teach us that the dove is monogamous - it can be trusted. It trusts others and others trust him, and he knows that it can demand that trust, and integrity of purpose. 

Where is all of this hinted at in the text? 

Well, for one, "it went to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth." For one, the raven wasn't a risk taker, he didn't trust himself, so how could he trust others? The very same suspicion that coursed through him was manifested and reflected in how he viewed others. Distrust is crippling, you don't get far in society and in this world when you're always watching your back to make sure someone else isn't trying to one-up you. It's like the hog in basketball, something also so part and parcel of Western society; we measure a player much more by how many points he scores, not how many assists he has. 

The dove, though, who signified a new world order, flew out on his mission, and what happened when he came back? Noach was waiting for him and lent him his hand; for things to work mankind would now have to lend each other a helping hand, encouragement, help, hope. Perhaps the dove felt disappointment at his failure to ascertain whether mankind could again endure on the earth that had been whipsawed by the flood. Who knew it would ever again be inhabitable? 

The dove rested on Noach's loving hand, and was brought back to safety, success being measured not so much by actual performance, but one's attempts and efforts. That extension of the hand on the part of Noach shows, and embodies a new positive culture, where two can meet in a synergistic way, a positive sum game, not the raven's cursed zero sum game, one having to win at the other's detriment. 

Then, the rest is history - the olive branch (How a tree survived in that climate, I will never know!), and then, through the collaborative efforts, the ability of the Yonah - the dove - to then set off on his own, knowing that his soulmate would follow him as he would lay the groundwork by finding a resting place for a new bevy of their own.