Evil: Defining It

Sam Smith editor of Progressive Review wrote the essay Hope, History, And the Holocaust: How much do we really learn from evil? for the magazine Designer/builder which was reprinted in Utne Reader (I bet my Kerry-loving brother has never even seen Utne's Reader) where I read it. One thing he said struck me as very true:

Here is the part of the Holocaust that is most frequently denied. Not that milliions were slaughtered but that those who did the deed might under certain conditions be either you or me. And we would do it, as Adolf Eichmann had suggested, simply by finding the words that allow us to deny responsibility, what he called "office talk."'

It is this unrecognized, undiscussed denial, especially at moments of solemn ovservance, that most frightens me. And our recovery does not lie in still more talk, ceremonies, and professions of horror. It lies instead in the study, honor, and practice of the good and decent.

This quote reminded me of M. Scott Peck's book People of the Lie. In it, he describes being party to an exorcism. He said that the most helpful people present were not the most religious, necessarily. In fact many thoroughly trained in religious dogma feared the situation and were of no use. The most helpful people, he reported, were those who were loving, who saw the goodness of the person, who eagerly desired to help.

Having been part of a church/sect/cult where the "office talk" encouraged selfishness, child abuse, women subservience, apathy, and callousness towards their fellow man, I am interested in the psychology of evil.

Having been part of a family that easily justified the wrongs, who in fact encouraged and welcomed the gross personal violations and framed them in spiritual terms, I know the amount of power people willingly give up when seeking answers to difficult questions and seeking solace during difficult times.

My experience also demonstrated that generally healthy people don't seek the immediate gratification of an ideology that solves all your problems in one neat little, exclusive package. These kinds of arguments don't usually work on healthy people: we have all the answers and you can too, but it's a secret path, a path few are willing to take, are you ready to be initiated into this special group? Lots of people heard this message, few followed.

Now, to those fully immersed in "office talk" they fail to see the malignancy that takes a person from "The Way" to "our way". They fail to see how repetitive dogma involving the words "submission" and "government" obscure the real message of freedom and love. In fact, submission to governance, in the form of a man-made organization, becomes love. Confused? That's part of the plan.

Danger lurks when trying to pin down evil. Like the Tokien character Saruman who studied the "dark arts", it is easy to be lulled into the power evil promises. Evil simplifies life. Insiders and outsiders. Believers and non-believers. Humans seek a simple solution, a way out, and there are many ideologies that promise this in one form or another.

Psychiatry tries to quantify "abnormal" behavior. But who defines abnormal? My sister is trained as a systems therapist. She told the story of a client who was in a kid's detention center. He was small. He got picked on and worse. He began to smear his feces all over himself and the walls of his room. You might call that abnormal behavior, right? But, what is abnormal about a self-protective behavior that keeps you safe from rape and other harm?

To illustrate a point about repetitive behavior, a psychologist giving a talk about Behavioral Therapy for autistic kids said, "What would you call a person who moved their arms this way over and over and over all day?" He made the motion of pulling a knob down from top to bottom, mimicking the motion of pulling a slot machine handle. If the pay-off is good enough, you'll repeat just about any behavior to get it. (Ever see Fear Factor? Would you eat roaches for enough money? How about power? If you could run the world for a day, but you'd have to eat 100 bugs to do it, would you?)

These examples skim close to situational ethics: given the right/wrong circumstances people will do anything. Did you see the movie Crash? Don't. It's depressing. The idea that people do what feels right given their prejudices, experiences and situation--much like an animal would seeking to survive or be the top of the evolutionary heap, denies the a much greater ability in man.

Einstein said that "It is easier to denature plutonium than it is to denature the evil spirit of man."

Do you agree? I do.

That is why getting rid of evil doesn't work. It must be replaced with something good. In fact, goodness, kindness, compassion, love, joy, must be cultivated and grown to fill up the place where evil once resided.

Studying evil eventually ends fruitlessly. Studying Saddam Hussein, Hitler, Pol Pot, offers no resources on how to avoid evil. Evil can only subside when replaced by something better. This takes courage. This takes admitting the truth to yourself and about others. This means changing. Ultimately that means letting go of pride in self. Arrogance coupled with ignorance wrapped up in entitlement and laced with contempt creates a perfect stew for evil to brew.

Ironically, going back to church helps find this truth more than anything. Love your neighbor. Pray for those who spitefully use you. Return good for evil. Bless those who curse you. Flee fornication. Clothe the needy. Feed the hungry. Walk humbly with your God.

It's easier to be bad than good. I know this from experience. Working to learn good--now that's a worthy study.