Evil Exists, Believe It or Not

In this postmodern society and society, it is very common to argue that there is no such thing as evil. Many people consider evil to be an outmoded concept, even a remnant of Judeo-Christian morality and ethics with its ideology of sin and guilt. Some even insist that the concept of evil is an inherent negative and extremely judgmental one in its contextualities. They assert that intelligent and enlightened people do not use strict dichotomies as far as morality and ethics go. They maintain that morality and ethics are relative and situational. According to them, what is considered evil to one person may be good to another person and vice versa.

Other people adamantly rationalize evil, giving a psychological explanation. They aver that what used to be considered evil is actually a sign of psychosis and/or other forms of mental aberrant behavior. They further explain that what is considered to be evil behavior is actually psychopathic or sociopathic behaviors but NEVER, EVER evil. To such people, evil is too loaded a word; furthermore, it denotes iniquitiousness, unconsionableness, and wrongness regarding certain acts, behaviors, and thoughts. There are people who are quite uncomfortable with the word, they seem quite wary of saying it as it smacks of absolute morality.

Yes, to many people, the concept and idea of evil denotes a level of religiosity. It also reminds them of a prohibitive ethical system that stresses only one acceptable form of belief and lifestyle. To them, evil as taught in many religions means to live a life contrary to the teachings of those religions which they find as psychologically stifling. They also feel that what many religions perceive as evil is a normative and exciting aspect of life. They further maintain that some religions even see humanness as evil which they find to be totally pathological, even schizophrenic in its very premise. They see the concept of evil as heinous one which is detrimental to human growth and development in addition to experiencing the joys of life. They contend that life is beyond good and evil which they feel to be atavistic and damaging concepts psychologically.

Evil is being totally devoid of good. It is a resolute and absolute unconscionableness in addition to having a lack of utter remorse. It is soulless and without a sense of conscience and humaneness. Many psychologists and psychiatrists would say that evil is some type of aberrant mental disorder. They further elucidate that what was thought of as evil in the old sense is now considered to be psychopathic or sociopathic.

Many religionists, philosophers, and non-traditionalist spiritualists strongly maintain that evil is bad magnified. It is beyond bad, it is the sense of utter moral depravity. It is relishing wrongness in action, thought, and/or deed. It is descending to the lower levels of one's consciousness. It is being at the lowest common denominator as far as character and/or morality goes. Some religionists would equate evil with sins of the worst, abominable, mortal, and damning natures. Evil is what is considered by many people to be the complete inverse and total opposite to what is moral and correct in the universe. They see evil as a disease and sickness in the human character and/or condition.

To many, evil is the worst of imperfection. It is the imperfect state in its most abject and abysmal form. It can even be classified as beyond imperfection. It is what is utterly debased and fallen. It is the darkest nature of humankind. There are people who believe that it is far easier for humankind to be evil than it is to be good. Evil is oh so easy as it means following and succumbing to one's most primitive and baser instincts whereas good means sacrificing and subverting the baser instincts to a higher, more elevated level of consciousness. In terms of religion and spirituality, evil is diametrically opposed to the God or Universal consciousness.

Evil is willingly committing acts that debase, dehumanize, and demoralize others. It is being unwilling to consider what effect one's acts and/or behaviors have upon others. It is always putting one's self-interest first and foremost to the blatant and utter disregard of others. It is not allowing others to exercise their right to individual self-determination and autonomy. It is relentlessly abusing, bullying, and/or dominating others.

Evil is knowingly diminishing others' self-esteem and other ways of self-worth. It is denying people opportunities for advancement and/or betterment. It is being uncaring for the welfare of others. It is exploiting and using others for one's ultimate gain and/or satisfaction. It is viewing others as pawns for one's own advancement and/or benefit. It is knowing better yet continuing to act irresponsibly and unthinkingly. It is having the means available to live in a more constructive way yet deciding to live in ways that are not conducive, even highly destructive.

Many people, of course, refute that people are born evil. They staunchly contend that people learn to be evil though upbringing or lack of in the familial environment. There are also other factors that causes people to be evil. It can be through associations with the wrong peers, life circumstances, neighborhood influences, bullying, and/or other related factors. There are people become evil in order to survive a tough and/or less than welcoming environment.

However, despite pundits who maintain that people are not naturally evil, there are people who lean towards evil. Their evil personality oftentimes lies dormant, surfacing when the opportune time comes and/or when situations and circumstances occur. For example, there are children born into the very best of circumstances and the most loving of parents yet they relentlessly bully other children. There is something about the latter which brings out the worst in the former's natures, whether it is the latter's physical characteristics, personality, and/or other variables. They actually enjoy the act of bullying other children as it gives them a visceral thrill and a sense of utter and unabashed power. In their eyes, other children are just mere pawns and objects to exploit for their benefit. The abuse and demoralization of the victims mean absolutely nothing to these bullies. The victims are NOTHING as far as they are concerned.

While many people deny it or deem it to be politically incorrect or in the very least judgmental, there are people who seem to be inherently evil. To such people, being evil as natural as being good is to most people. These people may be classified as sociopathic, even psychopathic by psychologists and psychiatrists; however, these people are consciousless and utter remorseless. These are the children who torture innocent animals. They also have no compunction regarding hurting other children. As adults, their behavior becomes even more unconscionable. To many of them, there is no act too debased or too evil to perform and/or inflict. Some people may say that they do not possess the normal concept of knowing right from wrong. Others maintain that they are completely amoral regarding their actions and/or behavior.

Then there are those who are predators. They got a visceral rush on preying on those whom they consider to be more vulnerable physically, emotionally, mentally, and/or psychologically. They feel that the more vulnerable are weaklings and get what they deserve. They have no sympathy at for the more vulnerable, they considered them as meat to be devoured. These people think of nothing to use and exploit others. They believe in the philosophy the survival of the fittest or the most cunning. They consider themselves to be at the top of their respective pecking order and those at the bottom only deserve their most utter contempt and they can treat the latter as they please.

There are some people who becoming evil as a way of establishing preeminence and dominance within their respective environment. They were not evil to begin with but in their respective environment, they learn that being nice will not get them the respect they deserve. In fact, being nice will cause them to be disrespected even more. So they learn to be evil to gain preeminence and dominance. Some become evil to gain what little respect there is.

For a few, it is either become evil or be further disrespected or exploited. They see becoming evil as a choiceless choice. In their eyes, they must either become evil or they will sink further into a further abject state. They are already at the bottom of their respective pecking order. They are already exploited beyond human endurance. They believe that in order to gain respect, even a modicum, they must become evil as they have no other viable alternative or choice in the matter.

There are those who become evil in response to their harsh environment and the way they are treated. Remember the adage that people become what they live and how they are treated. There are people who grow up in harsh, even abysmal negative environments. There are some who grow up in hellish familial environments where they are abused physically, emotionally, psychologically, and/or in other ways. They are so downtrodden and sick of the inhumane treatment, so they snap and return the treatment they have received in kind.

In summation, the word evil is a loaded word. Many people are loathe to use the word because of its religious connotation. They also see evil as a representation of moral absolutes and strict moral dichotomies. They further believe that evil is such a judgmental word. They would rather explain evil, citing a more politically correct, enlightened, and more relevant word such as psychopathic and/or sociopathic. In their minds, such words have a less negative, less religious connotation than the word evil. There are others who strongly avow that evil is part of the religious dogma of sin and guilt. They feel that according to such religions, there is only one legitimate way of life and anything.

No matter how hard people may try to deny it or use more appropriate synonyms, evil does exist in its myriad forms. Some people seem to be inherently evil, even genetically predisposed. Others are evil because of their environment while there are a few who lean towards evil, their evil side lying dormant until the opportune moment &/or circumstances occur. Many are proactively evil while others are evil in response to their environment or for basic survival. Yes, evil exists. We must recognize and be forever vigilant in order to fight it, implementing steps to stop and eventually eradicate it.