WHAT IS EVIL?

     According to the Oxford dictionary it is something that is profoundly immoral and malevolent. It takes many forms and has varying depths. It can range from suppression of rights to outright slaughter. It can range from purposeful wrong behavior to single mindedness in a depth of wrong behavior so deep that it is impossible to plumb or understand.
     Hannah Arendt said that there is a banality of evil. I, and many others, disagree. There is nothing banal about a child drowning in a panicked flight from evil. There is nothing banal about the rise of dictators and the trampling over people in a path to power.
     Evil can be a mass phenomenon or a single person's. It can be a mindless and extreme persecution of a group for an invalid reason such as political belief  or religion or sect of religion or national origin or tribe and the list goes on.It is difficult to fight but must be fought if we are to live in any worthwhile manner.
     While the temptation is there to go along and get along, it is impossible to do so. Never mind the fact that it is WRONG; it is also an impossible future for evil has no boundaries and tends to grow if there is no opposition and no one will be immune.
     We have the famous statement that all it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing. Then we have a profound statement from Albert Einstein which says, "The world is a dangerous place to live; not  because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." Think about these statements and think about one's place in life, one's deeds and actions and how we will have to answer for them, be it in the courts above or simply in the eyes of others.
     We need to look around with our eyes wide open and see where and if there is evil around us and decide what we are going to do. Are we going to oppose it, legally, with all our might, bang our heads on the wall time and time again until we actually make a dent and then enlarge on that dent, or are we going to just wear our blinders and see and do nothing. Will we stick our courage to the wall or will we hide it away in some decrepit suitcase somewhere hidden and dark, there to stay alone and unwanted, unused.
     There is evil in the world. One cannot deny it when one reads the daily headlines. Countries are emptying out into others as if a plug was pulled. Families are separated and rendered into broken and single units as people are killed, captured, held as slaves and yes, sold, or raped, as young as nine years old. And the rights of people are denied.
     If we neglect evil in its lesser forms, it will grow into larger and more malevolent levels. It is up to us to do the right thing for if not....well. we have seen the results. One person can do much but think how much two people can do and then four and eight and on and on. Evil likes to hide in darkness - expose it to the light. Stand with those in the world and yes, in the Village, who stand against evil and for the rights of all, for the rule of laws with no one above them, where people do not sic police on others by telling lies, where there is an open and fresh air around with all people welcome to state their opinions and ideas, to participate fully and freely in the democratic process. When that is denied, bad follows. Where bad goes, there evil grows.