ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Do You Think Humans, in General, Are Basically Evil?

Updated on May 13, 2020
Beata Stasak profile image

Beata works as a qualified primary school teacher, a councillor for drug and alcohol addiction and a farm caretaker for organic olive grow.

Here is the truth

As we move deeper into the autumn here in Australia, the quiet season after busy summer, I turn my thoughts to the hero of my life, who has just quietly died...
As we move deeper into the autumn here in Australia, the quiet season after busy summer, I turn my thoughts to the hero of my life, who has just quietly died...
I realise that heroism receives no oration, and entertains no one.
I realise that heroism receives no oration, and entertains no one.
No one queues up to see it. No one is interested.
No one queues up to see it. No one is interested.
It alludes to a state of mind where a person can set aside boredom to calmly experience reality - appreciating it for its richness, without demanding anything from it.
It alludes to a state of mind where a person can set aside boredom to calmly experience reality - appreciating it for its richness, without demanding anything from it.
Not everybody is able to find this state of mind, but everybody is looking for it. It is about pain - humanity's pain, anybody's pain, your pain.
Not everybody is able to find this state of mind, but everybody is looking for it. It is about pain - humanity's pain, anybody's pain, your pain.
Vaclav Havel died a few months back at the age of 75. In the euphoric days of 1989, after he went from ex-political prisoner to President of Czechoslovakia, I was there in the city square - one of the many students demanding change.
Vaclav Havel died a few months back at the age of 75. In the euphoric days of 1989, after he went from ex-political prisoner to President of Czechoslovakia, I was there in the city square - one of the many students demanding change.
He was a playwright who led the bloodless Velvet Revolution that toppled one fo Eastern Europe's Cold War regimes.
He was a playwright who led the bloodless Velvet Revolution that toppled one fo Eastern Europe's Cold War regimes.
He was thrust into a role he did not choose - that of teaching his countrymen what it means to build freedom.
He was thrust into a role he did not choose - that of teaching his countrymen what it means to build freedom.
He came from a little country but his message spoke to the world - a world that is now a different place without him.
He came from a little country but his message spoke to the world - a world that is now a different place without him.
He died quietly, suffering from a recurring dream that the secret police had shown up and thrown him back into jail.
He died quietly, suffering from a recurring dream that the secret police had shown up and thrown him back into jail.
The truth is, that type of heroism is rare. Yet we live in an age of transformation. We are more connected as a world than we ever have been.
The truth is, that type of heroism is rare. Yet we live in an age of transformation. We are more connected as a world than we ever have been.
What happens in one part of the world has an immediate impact on the others. We have lost our moral compass.
What happens in one part of the world has an immediate impact on the others. We have lost our moral compass.
We have the greatest inequity since the 1930s depression. Seventeen of the richest countries in the world have gone backwards in equality. 210 million people are out of work.
We have the greatest inequity since the 1930s depression. Seventeen of the richest countries in the world have gone backwards in equality. 210 million people are out of work.
Leaders around the world have slowly realised that we need to talk about innovation, sustainability and reform - not just about corporation and greed.
Leaders around the world have slowly realised that we need to talk about innovation, sustainability and reform - not just about corporation and greed.
We do need transformation, but the question is, what values should we set for ourselves? Good or evil? Just because all of us have powerful inborn traits, doesn't mean we can't stretch the limits of our personalities when the stakes are high enough.
We do need transformation, but the question is, what values should we set for ourselves? Good or evil? Just because all of us have powerful inborn traits, doesn't mean we can't stretch the limits of our personalities when the stakes are high enough.
We need to balance three equal identities: our inborn personality, the expectations of our culture and family and our personal desires and sense of what matters.
We need to balance three equal identities: our inborn personality, the expectations of our culture and family and our personal desires and sense of what matters.
Are we going to let things wash over us or are we going to change and challenge? The answer depends on what you want out of life. The most evil thing we can do is do nothing.
Are we going to let things wash over us or are we going to change and challenge? The answer depends on what you want out of life. The most evil thing we can do is do nothing.
The answer depends on what you want out of life
The answer depends on what you want out of life
The most evil thing we can do is do nothing.
The most evil thing we can do is do nothing.

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.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)