Am reading a fascinating book right now, Death's Head Chess Club, by John Donoghue. I could say it is about a chess tournament, but then which one - in 1962 or in Auschwitz? I could say it is about a unique friendship, the quality of mercy, forgiveness, good and evil, man's nature, responsibility and on and on but one must read this for oneself. It is a book that causes the reader to put the book down and think, to get angry, or shake a head. It forces us to think of ourselves and our own part in allowing evil to take us over.
But evil and self responsibility for one's own actions do not rest solely in a book or in a chat session. It is real and comes in many flavors. But the worst about evil is when it coopts one and we do not even recognize it as such. And then of course we refuse to listen to others or do anything about it and our part in it.
Evil is not restricted to the horrible side effects of war. It can be found anywhere, large and small, in both its inception and conception and its results.
Evil was found in the blockbusting that went on in neighborhoods all over NY and I daresay America, be it the Irish and Italian in their times, or the Jews or the African Americans. Someone stood to make money from nasty human frailties and did not care about the harm it caused others, about the lives ripped apart because of their deeds.
Well, folks, we have that situation here. Most of us bought here because we wanted a piece of quiet, of peace, of safety and affordability. We liked the location and the appearance of the Village. Of course, we all know that a cover, a surface appearance is often different from what lay beneath, but we were willing to take a chance, trusting to others to do the job right.
Well, we misplaced our trust and it was betrayed again and again, from a president who took money and goods every month to a president who threatened severe consequences if one did not sign an agreement to one who sees only from within his eyes and needs and never via others.
Even, shall we say, if this president had started out with good intentions, the result now is a plant whose infrastructure is deteriorating and cannot be properly addressed because there is no money, because there were financial shenanigans to support his own wishes and needs and the sad fact is that this behavior continues to this present day, this very minute.
To cap it all, we now have perhaps the straw that breaks the camel's back - the insertion of homeless people into units here in the Village in that very same Sheffield O by that nasty villain Kelley or Kelly, not sure of spelling. Have they been checked and vetted and allowed or not due to prior crimes or deficits? I highly doubt that. Why are they here? Because Kelly is a greedy man trying to reap profits off of our backs, ruin our Village and do not think this has never been tried before. This is the new form of block busting and we are the recipients of this loveliness!
And why has this happened? Because of a president of UCO and his henchmen who were paying more attention to their own needs, to their own wishes and ignored the needs of the Village, of struggling associations and then these associations fell prey to the nasty and the greedy, to those who cared nothing for our future here, only for what they saw in the mirror.
So they lied and lied and lied yet again. They denied what was there for all to see and the saddest thing is that so many of the delegates believed and so many were just apathetic. But people began to wake up, spurred on by a small group of maligned people, people who did care for the Village and thank G-d people in the Village are beginning to listen, to participate, to make their voices heard.
Where is evil? What is evil? How do we stop it? Must we stop it? I cannot answer the first two questions in a strictly definitive manner, only know that I recognize it right here in the Village and yes, we must step up to the plate on this because if one does not - one then becomes part of the evil. Think of what could have been stopped if the German people had thrown up fists against Hitler and not saluted him and shouted in delirium at his dreams for his country, his evil plans for those that were not German as he defined it. Think of what could have been avoided if the world had stepped in to shut down the slaughter in Rwanda and the list is almost infinite.
We truly have very little control over the world out there, but certainly we have a greater degree in here and we must demand more. Evil is as evil does and we must stop it in its tracks. Evil here is the ruination of our lives in our last quarter, exactly when we need peace and harmony, goodness and justice. Join in the fight. No broadband. Fiscal planning and responsibility. Infrastructure that works. Lakes that are clear. Votes that are legitimate. Respect given to residents and their needs. Process and procedure. Term limits. Clear routines on how to get rid of trash in UCO, of incompetence and worse. Join us before we are lost.
Please read Olga's comment for more information.
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