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Evil?

Posted by Adam on September 27, 2001, at 14:39:13

While eating lunch at a local deli, I caught a snippet of a speech being given by Pres. Bush. I don't know if this was live or a re-run (I don't watch TV very much). During the speech he reiterated the fact that we were "at war." Encouragingly, he defined that war as "not against Muslims or Islamic states," doling out all the requisite praise due to those practicing main-stream Islam. This is always good to hear, especially given the inevitable rash of hate-crimes against people who look like AY-rabs and so on since the attack on the 11th.

What I found disconcerting is who/what he said we were at war with: Evil.

Evil? Isn't that a bit, you know, cosmic? I can never understand why pols have to resort to using this kind of rhetoric to "rally the troops" and garner support from the general poplulace. I mean, isn't it enough to say we want to protect ourselves and others against terrorists and punish those responsible for the hijackings?

Of course, this got me thinking: What the heck is "evil", anyway? I have a hard time coming up with any adequate definition. This made the "war against Evil" concept even more disturbing, primarily because lack of definition implies deviously creative and selective uses of the word can be devised ad hoc by those who coopt words to weild as weapons.

I certainly think the recent attacks warrant some sort of response, but I find the careless use of such loaded terms as "evil" and "crusade", especially in the current context, deeply troubling, and probably self-destructive. For those who want to cast the world in a profoundly dualistic light for their own rhetorical purposes, terrorists could use and twist our history and value-laden presidential utterances to terrible effect. What better propaganda do you need than to say, rather accurately, that "the American Crusaders claim we are evil."

I guess if pressed, I might equate "evil" with "ignorance". That's hardly an original interpretation, though I don't know where I heard it first. It seems profound and twisted ignorance is what drives much of the world's problems, and what gives some people the ability to gain support when they say Americans are satanic, or when others say Americans are in a war against Satan. I guess such propaganda only works if people believe it, and, in my mind, only ignorant people would be that credulous. I hasten to qualify: the ignorant are not evil, but their state is, and should be changed.

But then again, I might be in a tiny minority in my view of what "evil" is. Some may really see it as a malevolent cosmic force that drives people to do dastardly deeds. It may be remotely possible that the President actually sees things that way. Who knows? Those holding such a view might say I was ignorant, and I can't think of a good way to refute that view, since it is argued on metaphysical grounds.

I hold out some hope that I am NOT in such a tiny minority though. I am interested in what people think evil is. So, what do you think it is?


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poster:Adam thread:11828
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20010927/msgs/11828.html