https://sites.google.com/view/evil-overpowers-good
Evil Can Overpower Good, And Sometimes There Is Nothing You Can Do
You may find yourself in some kind of difficulty where you feel threatened. One of your reactions is “I don’t deserve this trouble,” and you don’t. Or “How did this happen? There doesn’t seem to be any way out,” and there isn’t. You try to see what you did wrong and how your efforts failed. You feel defeated and demoralized. The evil side seems to have won, at least a little.
But stop wondering, because sometimes evil wins out over good and there is nothing you can do about it. Nothing!
Let’s say that “good” is something that supports people and their needs. “Evil” is something that damages people and prevents their fulfillment. It can break the law. You might also say that being good is being fair and just while doing evil is not. Facing evil in our world is uncomfortable, but evil is around us, nevertheless.
Why do evildoers ever win?
1. They can be more powerful. People compete for resources, and the stronger can get what they want, and others do not. World history and literature are full of these stories. Think of the Holocaust, lynchings, racism, or oppressive kings and lords. Some selfish people don’t care about who gets hurt.
2. They resort to trickery and lies to gain an advantage. We don’t expect it and are taken by surprise. Imagine someone talking on the phone for many hours saying that you are wrong about this and that and that there is evidence (which you do not see). After a while, others begin to believe it even though the truth is stretched or the message fabricated. Propaganda is a favorite tool of dictators. Also, please read the essay on sociopaths.
3. They are passively protected because good people stand by and let evil happen. This has been said by many.
Perhaps there is some evil around us all the time. Maybe we don’t pay attention because we all have our own needs. So much more could be said about evil around us.
So, what do we do? Ignore evil totally, or run and become a hermit, or attack and become a martyr? I don’t propose those, although maybe they need to be done sometimes. I propose that we each spend some time fighting for the good we want. Would this be minutes per day or hours per week? This is up to us. Given the realities of demands on us, this may be the best we can do. But if you must do more, then fine, do it. Also, remember that many believe that good wins in the end; be encouraged by that.
A good guide in our actions is fairness (1). Do we see unfairness? What do we do? What can we do? How far do we go? We don’t need to damage ourselves to do good. We don’t have to be a martyr like Matin Luther King or Mahatma Gandhi. We can be simple, everyday heroes who devote at least some time to finding the good and fairness in our lives.
Three cheers for everyday heroes!
1. Some material is modified from: M. J. Kuhar, The Art and Ethics of Being a Good Colleague. Amazon, 2020, p.120.