On Human Beings [View all]

“We are faced with evil. I feel rather like Augustine did before becoming a Christian when he said, ' I tried to find the source of evil and I got nowhere. But it is also true that I and a few others knew what must be done if not to reduce evil to at least not add to it.' Perhaps we cannot prevent this world from being a world in which children are tortured. But we can reduce the number of children being tortured. And if you believers don't help us, who else in this world can help us do that?”
Albert Camus



Yes, indeed, we are currently faced with evil. As always, I use the term “evil” in the psychological sense as defined by the late Michael Stone and his top student Gary Brucato. Those of you interested in “true crime” in a psychological context may be familiar with their books, or have seen Gary on various podcasts. In that context, it is the crimes that absolutely repulse most people that rate as evil. The butchering of four college students in Idaho a few years back, for example.

Dropping a tomahawk missile on a girls' elementary school fits my idea of evil. It reminds me of when in 1963, members of the KKK planted 19 sticks of dynamite & timing device under the steps of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, killing four little girls. Most people find such things repulsive. Only the sickest among us try to excuse such things, or worse, celebrate it.

Human beings, in my opinion, should not celebrate evil. If an individual, group like the KKK, or a military murders innocent people, we should not celebrate. When those responsible for evil are tried, convicted, and incarcerated, we should be relieved, even very happy. Being human for now, I struggle with the recognition that the deaths of a few world “leaders” could result in my celebrating. Much of my thinking is based upon my status as a grandfather, and discussions with my siblings, cousins, and friends who are grandparents. It is not only about our children, as we all relate to the powerful quote above from Camus.

Thus, as a pathetic old man who has participated in the wonders and horrors of life, I think about “evil,” too. It exists only within human beings. Natural disasters are destructive, but not evil. Likewise, the documentary series “Chimp Empire” suggests that sapiens have long participated in violence. This relates to how the organic structure of sapiens leading to down to us have that potential, but chimps are not “evil,” but rather participants in the wonders and horrors of organic life on earth.

Evil, however, is entirely a reality of modern humans. It came about as a concept when our frontal lobes evolved in size, making child birth painful, making the awareness of our future death an unpleasant reality, and most all of the features of the ancient allegory about the “fall from grace” that is generally misunderstood. Indeed, one of the most common sources of evil is when higher learning falls upon lower understanding. That type of concrete thinking is why it is likely that at least one stranger in the grocery store you go to thinks we needed to bomb Iran before they bombed us.

There is the story about Jesus meditating in the desert for 40 days. Those at the lower levels of understanding believe that is limited to an actual desert, rather than grasping a “desert” also has a significant psychological meaning. More, they believe that Jesus was tempted a red being, complete with horns and pitchfork, known as the devil. They are guided by Santa God and Stained Glass Jesus, totally unaware that was a psychological struggle that Jesus had regarding the path he would follow. This reality helps us view Jesus in the context of humanity.

I think the other source of evil starts with the abuse of children, including individual cases in particular. Both DNA and environment combine to create sociopaths, just as blue and yellow creates green. This creates the creeps that butcher college students, dynamite churches, or bomb schools. This can include childhoods that appear “normal,” whatever that is.

I do not pretend to know what “the” answer is. But I know if a little one in the extended family is being abused, we have to confront and deal with it. If a child is being abused in a community, the community must take action. The same in a state, country, or any place on earth. We are in a tough fight – it might even feel like a desert these days – and this requires that we all do our best to reduce the numbers of human beings suffering.