The Nature of Evil

Evil's not a word that we use very much anymore and that's not a good thing. Sometimes it's the only word that can accurately describe a situation. We shouldn't shy away from the Truth of a situation because describing it would make people uncomfortable, that's not honest and it doesn't help solve the problem in question.

Part of the difficulty is that people, by and large, have forgotten what evil really is. I hope, that with this post, I can shed some light on what I think evil is and what we can do to combat it.
One example of evil is the way that the Shank family was treated after Debbie Shank was injured in a horrific accident. She has severe brain damage and needs constant care. Wal-Mart paid for her care until Debbie's husband won a lawsuit on her behalf to help pay for her 24hr care. Wal-Mart then sued the shank family and won because they had a clause in her work contract gave them the right to do so. Their claim was that not only did they HAVE to sue her but they were also being generous and merciful because they were accepting less than they were owed. This is an example of evil. They knew Debbie's condition. They knew that her husband had to divorce her so that she could qualify for medicaid. They knew that her brain damage was so severe that she can't remember that her son died in Iraq and that every time she's told it's like hearing it for the first time.

What Wal-Mart did was evil without question. However the Shank's story was picked up by the media. News shows like Countdown with Keith Olberman showcased this and expressed outrage over the fiendish level of greed that Wal-Mart was showing. This, coupled with consumer outrage (and lots of prayer from Christians I hope) caused Wal-Mart to change their position and, as of today I believe, control over that money is back in the hands of Debbie's ex-husband.
During this story one Glenn Beck actually had the utter temerity to declare that the media was acting like terrorists in the way that they had handled the story. Apparently his stance was that Debbie has signed the contract so she was just out of luck. This attitude and the earlier example involving Wal-Mart itself are examples of the evil of the lack of caring about those who are in genuine need. It's selfishness made manifest and it's an ugly and evil thing.

There's also the evil of trying to lie about someone without actually lying. A good example of this can be found amongst people like Ann Coulter and some other radio personalities (including one who introduced McCain at an event, can't remember his name though) in their continued emphasis on Barak's middle name. Now while it should be abundantly clear to everyone that they're trying to pull a fast one we all know that it won't be.

For those who are wondering this is an example of lying without actually saying the lie. In putting the emphasis on Barak's middle name people like Ann Coulter are, rather coyly, trying to imply that he's a muslim when he's not. When called on it they try to spin the argument to say that they're only using his name and that there's nothing wrong with that.
If that were the case I'd agree but since I know what they're acutally doing I call them on it and call it for what it is. Evil.

To be sure there are other examples of evil in the world. They happen every day in all parts of the world. Murder, rape, child molesters, assault, etc.

How do we combat this you ask?

Well the answer is simple. The first part of combating it is to realize that God loves all of us and sent His only begotten son, Jesus, to die on the cross for all of us, and that on the third day He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. Accepting Him as Lord and Savior is the most important step. (Remember folks I'm a Christian so this point of view really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.)

Second we have to come together and work towards changing society. We have to change the hearts and minds of the people so we stop accepting things like the aforementioned evils. We have to get our hands dirty. We have to treat one another with love and kindness and care for the poor, the sick, the widows and orphans.

If we did all that then the world would be a much happier place to live. At least I think so anyway.

That's all for now.

May the Lord bless you and may the Lord keep you. May He make His Face to shine upon you.
Amen and amen

End of line.