Do You Think Humans, in General, Are Basically Evil?
Here is the truth
People have inside basic tendencies and goodness, as well as an evil side.
From a fascination with wars and gangsters
to an endless production line of horror films -
violence seems to have a special place next to love in our hearts.
Studying massacres through the ages,
violence has had a fundamental part of our history.
There are lessons to be learned.
Have there been real changes over time?
Are we less or more evil in our modern century?
Patterns are changing. Especially the motivation behind brutal acts.
People used religion as an excuse to kill
before the 18th century. In our modern world,
it is politics, ideology and race that seem to be
the prime motivators behind mass violence and killing.
Massacres related to colonisation between 1780 and 1820 in South Africa, Australia, North America or Europe, are topics that people do not want to talk about.
There are state-sanctioned massacres
happening all around the world at this minute.
Is it evil to watch with curiosity the suffering of others far away from us?
Political violence, terrorism, violence in schools and on streets, popular violent culture is part and parcel of the way that we see today's world.
The universal nature of aggression and bloodshed has already soaked into our human core.
The plight of refugees in Australia remains one of the biggest black spots on the name of a country that is so proud of its democratic traditions. A fair go for all and concern for the underdog. It locks men, women and children up.
Those who are desperate to escape just such oppression in intolerable conditions. Driving many to despair, self-harm and suicide.
While Australians close their eyes and go on with their lives.
People have inside them a basic decency and goodness. If they listen to it and act on it, they are giving a great deal of what it is that the world needs most.
Robert F. Kennedy once said:
"Each time a man stands up for an ideal,
or acts to improve the lot of others,
or strikes out against injustice,
he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope..."
What is it that occupies your thoughts? Evil acts and violence are such fascinating topics to discuss with a lot of people.
Many of them believe that if suffering went out of life, courage, tenderness, pity, faith, patience and love would go from life too.
And yet, they keep dreaming about Robert F. Kennedy's words and want to believe that: "...those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."
A loving person lives in a loving world.
A hostile person lives in a hostile world.
Most of us live and view the world through
shades of grey.
