I hope you all had a nice Valentine; mine certainly was.Today I'd like to discuss "evil". Evil is bad, wrong, corrupt, rotten - right? Everybody seems to know, instinctively or by learning, what evil is, yet when one tries to define it, one can't. Evil is different for different people.
Evil, like good, is a point of view.
One person's death is another's bread, says a Dutch proverb and while this is obviously the case for undertakers, it's still true on a less morbid level. One sport team's defeat is another's victory. Granted, that defeat might not be "evil", but how about a war?
The majority of soldiers see the enemy as evil. Of course this is a necessity, for you can't fight someone you like and agree with, but the majority of the population sees the enemy as evil and wrong, too. There is an automatic response of interpreting one's own values as better and more noble. The misguided emotion known as "patriotism" is one form of this; people who voice their disagreements are seen as traitors to the country.
However, they can't all be right. How can both sides to an argument, to a war, be "right"? At least one of them is wrong, and probably both of them. Plus, there is the very real possibility that there is no right or wrong.
Like "wrong" is defined by "right", so is "evil" defined by "good". Evil begins where good ends; without evil there is no good. Evil needs good.
And good needs evil.
This view is symbolized by the yin and yang: one half is white and one half is black. They define each other. Eastern philosophy acknowledges the fact that evil cannot be exterminated - not without eliminating good. Without evil, there is no good - without the Dark Side there would not be a Light Side; without villains there are no heroes; without night there is no day.
Yet ironically, evil and good are points of view, and therefore they do not exist in reality. Don't get fooled by the zealous religious: evil is all inside our heads. And it needs goodness in there, too.
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5 comments:
All interesting views. There certainly must be good and evil as one cannot exist without the other. How an individual defines "evil" is certainly based upon their own experience and teachings.
people who voice their disagreements are seen as traitors to the country.
This point I don't quite agree with. I believe that it is a traitorous "act" that causes one to be called a traitor to their country, not simply stating something with which they disagree. It could vary by country, but that is the case in America certainly.
Well written, dear Dragon. :)
Thank you, gorgeous! :)
but that is the case in America certainly.
It should be the case. Everywhere. Sadly it often isn't, and I'm not talking about modern America - though some would say otherwise after hearing about what happened to the Dixie Chicks.
Why don't I venture over here more often? Very interesting. :)
Yes, but what happened to the Dixie Chicks wasn't strictly seen by all as "traitorous". They spoke out as they are allowed to do under our laws. They shouldn't have done it in the manner that they did it, but it wasn't traitorous. Yes, some of the "rag mags" and reporters did call them "traitors" wrongly even though they weren't. Now, because the Dixie Chicks are big names, they got themselves in "trouble" for a while by speaking their minds b/c many people "spoke their own minds" about the way they said what they said by not buying their music and the radio stations not playing their music, but that is also our right. I still won't buy their music b/c I think what they did was wrong. However, they were not actually "marked" as traitors b/c they have not been tried & convicted or thrown out of the country or anything like that. Those are the things that SHOULD have happened to Jane Fonda for her traitorous act which was so terribly heinous to this country and some of our POW's. I will not buy any of her movies or do anything that will provide one cent to her pocket and neither will my family.
Wow, quite the debate going on here;
Evil is evil
Good is good
Bad is bad
right is right
and wrong is wrong
One cannot live without the other. It's called perfect harmony. ;)
Very good points you have made dear Dragonboy. And I see my girl has made it to your blog. Wanna see us kiss? I quarantee it will make you horny....LMAO.
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