Good VS Evil

The Battle between good and evil rages on it would seem. Every day we are confronted with both, and we usually handle it in the way our parents raised us in combination with our own life lessons. Which side do you choose, or is it really that simple? For that matter, is that really the choice?

Choices

Truly good or evil people have made subtle choices their entire lives to get them to the point in which they are today. No one immediately starts out as Ghandi or Hitler, but there is a slow and steady placement for these individuals. However, most people are usually somewhere in between. In fact, I would submit that most people are generally good people. It's the Media that's always willing to point out the evils that are happening in the world. Let's face it, they need viewers, and people want to know out of either morbid curiosity or true empathy. But that still leaves an unanswered question. Is the battle between good and evil balanced?

The choices we make dictate our own personal good and evil rating. This is a personal scale that which only you have the right to place yourself on. Granted, there will always be people willing judge you, but they have no right. Only you know the challenges you face in life, and only you know where you are going. Therefore I can only urge you to make good choices.

Consequences

With every choice there is a consequence, and that consequence will manifest itself later. A lot of people like to call it karma. However, I hate to break it to you, but there is absolutely no guarantee that making a good choice will bring a good return. Nor will making an evil choice. Bad things do happen to good people and visa versa. It's one of the true injustices of the world, but there is hope. Your soul will improve or degrade over time by the choices that you make. One of the benefits of making good choices, is being able to stand tall with pride.

Karma is most often the argument people use to manipulate you into doing what they want you to do. You'll see it all the time. For example, the buckle your seatbelt ad campaign "Click it, Don't Risk It." We are always confronted with the notion of Karma: "Do good things and good things will happen in return." This has been ingrained into our minds our entire lives. The golden rule is what our parents taught, and they also said "Behave or you're going to get it." Advertisers haven't missed a beat, and those teachings are reiterated every day.

Karma's Flaw

I hate Karma, both good and bad because it is a flawed argument. It's a manipulation when anyone presents the argument. The reason this is such a big fallacy is because the result of the action is left undefined. It's also a selfish way of looking at things. "Alright if I do this, what will I get out of it?" You should always look out for yourself, and I'm not saying you shouldn't. However, if someone convinces you to do something out of karma, then what's left out is the external consequences of your action. For example: "If you sell this Kirby vacuum you will make 300 dollars. WOOT WOOT... And if you sell 5, you will get your own Kirby, and you can either sell it or keep it..." Sounds good right? Well, do your friends need a 2100 dollar vacuum? Is there something wrong with the one they have now?

Karma is the single biggest con ever to be played on the entire planet. It convinces you to be good, and therefore you are not causing a problem. And it also allows people to be easily pliable. With karma indoctrinated people, you can convince them to do just about anything so long as the return is personally beneficial. It's not personally beneficial to fight evil; therefore evil invented Karma as way to get good people to do nothing.

Evil

Is your head spinning yet? It should be, as everything I'm saying is making sense, yet at the same moment, is also going against everything you've ever been taught. Evil is like a bad salesman in that everything it says boasts things that are bigger then it actually is. Most people are good people, and then there are the bad eggs. Out of the bad eggs, only a select few are truly evil.

True evil can be defined as those who start wars for personal gain. Can you imagine setting in motion a chain of events that will kill hundreds of thousands or millions, and displace millions more? I can't. There are those that would commit atrocious acts of violence and depravity for sheer enjoyment.

With respect to those who have been victimized. I would like to say that these people are few and far between. Sadly, some of these extreme few have made it into positions of extreme power. The old adage isn't wrong when said "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Portrayed Evil

Even though there is real evil in the world, the Media pushes us to the brink. Every other story there is a murder, death, rape, and other atrocious thing. Out of 6 billion people, I would like to point out that only once in while is there a story like this. Phoenix Arizona, and the surrounding area which is known as "The Valley" has about 7 murders a week. Or at least it did when I lived there. 7 million people live in the valley, and that means that the chances of being murdered is 1 in a million per day. I left a small town of 3,000 for Phoenix and there was a murder a while back. For one year, that's 3000 X 365 = 1,095,000... In essence, the small town has the same crime rate as the big city.

HOWEVER, the small town has that small town easy going atmosphere. The big city is wound up tighter than a snare drum. Both places are actually not bad places to live. I could go anywhere in the city without fear, and why not. I didn't participate in any behaviors that would bring me grief. And for that matter, random acts of violence are extremely rare. It's the Media, TV Shows, Movies, and Books that attempt to shock you into awe. I know a lot of people that love a good horror show. Not my cup of tea, but they like the slasher flicks. However, years go by between cereal killers.

Good

Good people on the other hand are very plentiful. There are philanthropists that give, parents that sacrifice, friends that serve, and neighbors that care. There are so many good people that it's mind boggling to think that people actually believe there is an equal balance between good and evil. Like I said before, evil embellishes. Don't mistake my statement here for saying evil does not exist, but evil is probably the biggest minority on the planet.

Portrayed Good

Just like portrayed evil, portrayed good is designed to get viewers and send a message. We all love that fuzzy feeling we get when we hear about a family that has risen above poverty. The media, cinema, and church organizations all focus on good people and their actions. So much so that it can be blown out of proportion.

Good VS Evil

We are taught to fight evil at all costs, and we do. We guard ourselves against swearing, immorality, antichurch talk, stealing, and so on. We spend so much time fighting against those temptations that we fail in a fundamental way. Helen Keller said it best:

"It is wonderful how much time good people spend fighting the devil. If they would only expend the same amount of energy loving their fellow men, the devil would die in his own tracks of ennui."
Helen Keller

HAHAHA!!! This is coming from a blind and deaf woman. It's so true too. You can fight against all your immorality, swearing, antichurch talk, stealing, anger, and so many more. But if you spent just half that time doing something good for someone else, those fights wouldn't matter. Evil is sustained by doing nothing.

Conclusion

We are all in charge of our own destiny. Let's make it the best we can, shall we?