Beyond Good & Evil
I would say that the concept of good and evil has shaped our existence, influencing our societal decisions, technology, progress, relationships, our planet… and of course religion.
But how do you define evil? How do you define good? Is the man who has experienced no hardship and lives life with a sunny disposition and a willing hand labeled as ‘good’? And the man born on the streets, forced into survival from childhood and steals for a living ‘evil’?
At what point is a human being (to borrow from the bible) absolved for his behavior in relation to his history? When is the time allocated that society casts down judgment?
One can argue that certain acts are evil beyond debate: animal cruelty, child abuse, torture. Yes yes and yes I agree. But still… is anyone ever born with an inbuilt capacity to carry out these acts? That I cannot agree with.
What I think is closer to the truth is people are born into a world already rife with appalling situations and are not given the resources or opportunities to cope. They become trapped in a survival eat-or-be-eaten reality and so the cycle of ‘evil’ becomes a self-perpetuating system.
But did evil in an independent form ever exist? I do not believe so. I believe that the horrors our world experiences are based from our inability to… well… be human. We have existed for thousands of years and still we don’t know who we are, why we are here and worst of all – how to actually be ourselves.
We are at constant war within ourselves; mind versus heart versus soul. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. We are at war within those parameters as well, plagued by thoughts that contradict, fears that overwhelm, decisions that are regretted.
The truth is that we have absolutely no idea what we are doing and it shows. Should we have pity for those who have become lost in this turmoil and react in terrible ways? Or do we condemn them for reflecting back to us our own pain that we diligently try to hide away.
Because if evil exists we must face that reality within our selves. There is nothing alive today that is not allowed, promoted or sanctioned by each and every one of us. How much easier to point the finger of retribution at those who live their confusion and pain on their sleeve, than to ask ourselves how we have not put in the effort to change a world that gives such pain.
