Good vs Evil

It has been said the Evil exists in all of us.  To some extent, I believe that statement to be true.  The difference between good and evil is in how an individual responds to psychosocial pressures that are evident in everyday life.

There is no class protection, no monetary buffer, nor is there a shield from religious beliefs.  The role of evil in our society transcends all and has no boundaries.  The same can be said of Good, it is also boundless and pervasive, but it does have its limitations but only within those who choose evil over good.

The psychology of Evil is steeped in the individual choices made and followed throughout one’s life.  There is no repository of good deeds nor of evil actions, both require a constant devotion in order to maintain their preeminence. 

For most of humanity, the balance between good and evil vacillates, ebbs and flows depending on situational or psychological perimeters that drive the psyche of the individual mind to act or react toward good or evil.  In other words, we are what we ultimately choose to do.

The subject of choice does have some variability and does not always present itself as a decisive option.  Consider the struggle of children growing up on the streets of any large city.  They are constantly surrounded by a barrage of choices, many evil and some good.  The ability to choose is often mitigated by the options available.  Choices need to be weighed and balanced in relation to those offered with the understanding that within those streets “good” options may not be available nor understood as “good”, leaving the individual with no clear path, or option than to choose the lesser of available evils provided.

To the other side of the spectrum, where the wealthy live and die choices are often subjugated by the constant allure of power, prestige, and money creating a similar scenario to those that are challenged with poverty.  The evil perpetrated by wealth and the pursuit of wealth and power encompasses the global evil that is often made manifest through governmental atrocities, political maneuvering and wealth acquisition.  It is amazing what choices our leaders make to maintain their positions of power!

Evil is a choice, but the choices for good are often shadowed by blind ambition or obscured because of previous choices made limiting the perspective of an individual to see the available good, leaving them choiceless in the face of an overwhelming evil. 

We often ask, why did they do something so despicable?  Why is that allowed to occur and why is that evil not stopped?  Simply answered, God has a choice as well.  He could stop it all, remove our ability to choose and establish a regulated world where we are told what to do, forced to do what we are told and punished for not doing what we are told to do.  In so doing we would become nothing more than when we were born.  Forced to obey, forced to live a life without risk, no choices, no chance to fail or succeed.  We would exist and then we would die without gaining any experiences of failure or success. 

There would be no love because there would be no hate.  No passion due to passionless life upon us.  No joy and no sorrow, we would have gained nothing from this life, making life worthless and endless.

Despite the evil that surrounds us and infects us and manipulates us we are better people because of it.  No Pain, No Gain is an apt motto for life in general.  We need to move through the sorrows of life in order to understand the beautiful and miraculous events that also surround us.  We need pain in order to comprehend the pleasures and joys of our existence. 

Evil is a choice, a choice that has devastating consequences on those who fail to see or can see how good changes lives upward.  Good choices expand our lives and the lives of those around us.  Evil limits our existence and reduces our life choices. 

The Psychology of Evil is in the choices we make, it’s all about choices.  Even if those choices are limited our ability to choose the best path will expand our choices and will eventually lead us toward the light of possibility and promise. 

The first step is yours, choose well my friend.