Good vs Evil / Conscience vs No-Conscience
"On subjects of education, government and religion, I would rather be in disagreement with a person of conscience, than in agreement with a person of no-conscience. Nothing good comes from the latter." -- Ed CateThere is much said on the Internet about "GOOD vs EVIL" and I feel that many arguments are distorting the clarity we need to see through to resolve social and economic problems. So many are called EVIL, and so many are called GOOD, but the labels fail us. There are many so-called "Religious Right" who are neither Religious nor Right, and there are many in the so-called "Axis of Evil" who are not "evil." Some say all Republicans are "evil" and others say all "Democrats" are evil. These labels expose us to manipulation by others.
In light of the books available, and of those that have come before, I think it would be better to argue about those who have demonstrated a conscience and those who have not done so, then we can forget the other names by which they are labeled. By conscience, I mean those who have demonstrated that their actions match their words.
Every group, in its core membership, has many of those with conscience. The group would not exist without them . I say that because of the enormous work it takes to keep a group together, and those of no-conscience would never make the effort. A group mostly of those with no-conscience would splinter quickly.
That being said, that does NOT mean those of no-conscience would not co-opt
a group and lead its members down a path to "evil."
For convenience, I'll use the
Wikipedia definition of evil, which
is:
"In religion and ethics, evil refers to the "bad" aspects of the behavior and reasoning of human beings —those which are deliberately void of conscience, and show a wanton desire for destruction. Aspects regarded as "evil" are thought of as immoral, corrupt, corrupting, inhumane, selfish, and wicked. In most cultures, the word is used to describe acts, thoughts, and ideas which are thought to (either directly or causally) bring about affliction and death."
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Now I ask you, if you were surrounded by "evil" people like I have just described, would you not start feeling like you're in "hell?" As an example, the illustration on the left shows descent into "hell." That is, someone who shows less and less conscience over time and then joins the surrounding group. We have all seen those who had great potential slowly sink downward in character because of being around those of no-conscience. "Quicksand" comes to mind, as well as "going to the dark side." I'm sure you can think of others. |
In the opposite case, the illustration on the right is to show ascent towards "goodness," or pure conscience, in which "goodness" refers to aspects which are life-affirming, peaceful, and constructive." If you were around more people like this, would you not feel like you're in "heaven?" And do we not know of some, who we thought of having no potential, slowly developing better character because of being around those with a conscience. |
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It seems to me, that for personal gain, labels such as Christ (pure conscience)/Anti-Christ (absolute no-conscience), Savior/Satan, and so on, are used to keep the majority of those with conscience, from seeing that they are manipulated by those of no-conscience. If the 1 sociopath out of 25 people is even close, then the "good" certainly outnumbers the "bad." Then how is it, in a democracy of majority rule, do the "sociopaths" get control of so many groups? I don't think we're paying enough attention.
If we want to win the battle of "good" vs "evil," then good men (and women) must reduce the influence of the "sociopath." Quit financing them; quit voting for them; and if you're not voting, it's high time you searched out those with conscience and vote for them. When you're represented by those of conscience, it will matter little what label others have put on them, or the labels they have put on themselves.
Perhaps this is what Edmund Burke meant when he said "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." In other words, those of conscience permit those of no-conscience to lie, steal and murder in their name. Simple as that. Therefore, this gives new meaning to this last quote. "Now is the time for all GOOD men to come to the aid of their country," by (Charles E. Weller.)
© 2006 by Edward Ulysses Cate
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