On the Existence of Evil...

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the concept of "evil." This concept is referred to in many cultures, by many different names. Many cultures, thought-systems, and religious and faith systems refer to the problem of demonic forces. Another term for these forces I have recently come across is Ahrimanic (via an Antrhoposophical writer.) I have also read about what Edgar Cayce referred to as the "Sons of Belial." Different groups of people advocate different responds to demonism (or evil forces of whatever type.) One common approach to the problem of destructive, violent, cruel behavior is to name it, label it - and seek to destroy it through a variety of measures, punitive, and/or exclusionary.

Last night I went to see a presentation (by Stephen Zarlenga) about the problems in our monetary and economic system (American Monetary Institute) - namely the inequities and injustices that exist. At one point in the presentation, the presenter referred to what he feels are evil forces that are bent on continuingly putting people down - oppressing the masses in favor of the freedom for a few...

Obviously, it's understandable how the current system, iniquitious and unequal - discriminatory, oppressive and tyrannical - could be interpreted and perceived as bearing some sort of evilness.

However, I was struck with a thought after the author referred to the problem of evil interests. I think there is an alternative theory for why people do wrong to each other. there is an alternative, and I believe workable, theory for why people put each other down and hurt each other. The theory is this: people hurt each other, and put each other down, because of their own wounds, their own sense of insufficiency and inadequacy. People have a notion that success is dependent on having power over others, on having power over their environment. People get ego-boost from feeling superior over others, and then, once superior - they abuse their position, putting people down, treating people as if they are inferior.

The fact is that all people have power. All of us. All human beings have personal power. All human beings deserve to be respected.

Perhaps the appearance of evil is just that, an appearance. And what is really at the heart of harmful economic activity, and destructive competition, are petty fears about loss, about personal loss, about loneliness, isolation, insufficiency.

...So that if we were to be more generally supportive, respectful, and tolerant of each other, then people wouldn't feel the need to wield power over each other. And instead of wielding power over each other - people would seek to wield power to serve each other - to serve the best and true interests of a healthy and sustainable human civilization.

Let's stop hurting each other people.

Evolution from a culture of conquest, domination, consumption and intolerance — to a culture of consent, sharing, cooperation, spirituality, creativity, and sustainability... etc.

However, it's possible that there are truly evil / demonic forces. At this point I am undecided. And even if there are truly evil forces (or individuals), then it is no less important to treat those destructive elements in a way that is fair and nondiscriminatory. For example, instead of punitive justice only - major efforts could be made in the direction of restorative justice.

p.s. additional thought to consider: what are the effects of materialism, and the culture of consumption, on humanity and planetary ecology?

Peace,
Berd

p.p.s. human labor is not a commodity

War is a Government Riot

The government uses war as a supposed solution to conflict. But war is really unnecessary. Our own government engages in offensive wars of conquest (AKA: Aggression), cloaking it as "necessary defense" against terrorism. But it's not necessary. And to boot, it was policies and politics (and specific practices) of (and related to) conquest (AKA domination and/or imperialism), which have created the environment and the will for terrorists and terrorism to develop.

War in Afghanistan

Afghanistan is famous for its violent conflicts. The region has been fought over for hundreds of years.

The US war in Afghanistan has been taken for granted. The war started only a few days after the 9/11/2001 WTC attacks. People by and large did not question the Bush Administration's decision to launch an invasion and campaign of sustained occupation of Afghanistan.

But the premise and concept of the occupation of Afghanistan is worthy of taking a closer look. For example, terrorists, from a group which is supposedly headquarted in Afghanistan, attacked the World Trade Center in New York City. Does this give the USA the right to invade and occupy the whole of Afghanistan? The answer is no. The terrorist attacks do not give the USA the right to intervene in the affairs of a sovereign national government, except to the point of seeking, and rooting out, suspected terrorists.

The events of 9/11/2001, and the war in Afghanistan, give us the opportunity to explore the foreign policies of our nation in terms of blowback.

Many people around the world, including myself, are critical of the imperialism of the USA. Terrorists are motivated by the harmfulness of economic exploitation and oppression, which stems from the policies and practices of the USA.

The way to truly make the USA safe and secure, is to operate in the world in ways that are respectful, tolerant of personal differences between peoples and nations, and fair and just.

Bullying and belligerence, economic exploitation and oppression, will only serve to provoke anti-American sentiment, and possibly even terrorist attacks.

Interaction on Flickr: Speaking the Truth about Empire and Conquest

I often engage others in political discussion on the Internet. Flickr is a frequent locale for such discussion. The open format there, and focus on photographs, gives a really topical format which lends itself to discussion. Here's an example of a recent interaction:

Here's how to deal with Iran and N. Korea


America airpower can, alone, deliver massive devastation on military, government, and economic targets inside these nations with virtual impunity.

Comments

scarley says:

this is a really beautiful shot.

^Berd says:

Looks like something out of star wars - the evil empire strikes back.

Wayne in Indy says:

Thank you. Your definition of America as an "evil empire" illustrates with perfect clarity the stark contrast between how liberals and conservatives see America.

scarley says:

Scarlett is ashamed of people like ^Berd. Shame on you. SHAME ON YOU!!! These guys keep you SAFE! These guys are the product of freedom. They are the product of freedom to explore technology and science. Freedom to create! These wouldn't be if it were not for our freedom. And in this day in age, were it not for these, our freedom would be overrun.

Wayne in Indy says:

You're wasting your breath, Scar. He's commented on other of my photos. In Berd's view, America is the "evil" in the world. And he equates the idea of "America First" with "hatred". Get this: When I related my world-view to him, he bagan to ask me if I'd had a traumatic-type childhood!
It's the liberal mindset, Scar. If some Tyrone-from-the-ghetto type [check on the racism -berd] attacked and assaulted my wife, I'd happily blow the guy away without a second thought. If the same happened to Berd's wife, however, he'd likely try to "understand" what might have motivated the animal in question to perpetrate such a misdeed. Berd would likely conclude that the real criminal was George Bush because he didn't shovel more money into the ghettos which, in turn, caused the poor man to "strike out" at society.
Don't laugh. This is how these people think.

scarley says:

Oh I don't think it's funny at all. I think it's pitiful and shameful.

^Berd says:

Freedom to create—weapons of mass destruction. What an irony.

These machines are used as tools of empire and conquest. That's not creative. That's destructive. These machines are used to wage war and instill fear in those whom are opposed to the military and economic juggernaut of the USA.

The USA has so much potential to be a truly uplifting and constructive force in the world. But the current situation, the status quo is of tremendous harm. The current economic reality is one of planetary environmental and social degradation.

The USA is on the road to empire. The USA is on the road to ruin.

To save our republic - Stop our empire!

All human beings deserve to be treated equally and fairly.

Oppression, in all of its forms, must be challenged, opposed and eradicated. Another world is possible. A world where human beings belong to a universal fellowship of love, respect and tolerance of personal differences... Another world is possible. A world where cooperation—not conquest—is the principle. A world where people everywhere share, and hold in trust for all, the limited resources afforded by this wonderful planet.

Conquest Versus Cooperation

We try to conquer each other every day. We compete over who has the most stuff. We race to see who can get to a red light first. Then we step on the gas to see who can accelerate away from it faster. We are surrounded by the culture of conquest in every day life. And it's mostly unconscious. We mostly don't even realize it.

For example: Who has the latest bling-bling? We worry about fashion while people half-way around the world starve, and suffer any number of brutal assaults against their personal beings and human dignity.

We are living, as part of this society, drastically and dramatically out of proportion, and out of scale, with the planet's ability to provide. We are on a downward spiral. If this doesn't change, more and more energy will be poured into diminishing returns. Energy, of all Earthbound kinds, is becoming more and more scarce, and more and more difficult to access and maintain. It's a chain-reaction. It's a self-destructive cycle.

Yet, nonetheless, we have an opportunity to build a different culture. We can build a culture of cooperation, compassion, kindness, equitable use of resources... Yes we can.

So let's compare some of the aspects of these rival cultures. Below I have created a list.

This is a work in progress. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and I am sure that I have left out some major and important points.

Please feel free to add terms to the lists.

Culture of Conquest	Culture of Cooperation
violent imperial exploitative hurtful harmful domineering authoritative controlling militaristic destructive socially degrading environmentally degrading dehumanizing corrupt dishonest divisive focusing on differences hateful malicious selfish greedy racist judgmental make assumptions jump to conclusions	nonviolent sharing compassionate kind loving trusting honest truthful respectful constructive productive of lasting achievement uplifting life-serving participatory democratic consensual peaceful life-affirming benign generous tolerant and accepting of differences regarding race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, etc. treat all people equally ask questions