On the nature of evil

A fellow student's comment, "I'd like to think people are basically good," intrigued me.\nIt was Sept. 11. Amid a shaken world, the young man was searching for hope, a refuge from the storm that raged all around. By thinking that humanity is mostly good, there is comfort, there is solace. The theory postulates that society may have a few misdirected individuals, but if we only can educate or influence them correctly, we may achieve the utopia for which we long.\nComforting perhaps, but is it truth? Let us consider the evidence. Pick up a newspaper or turn on the television. How many school shootings have we witnessed? 683,000 rapes occur every year. One in six boys and one in four girls will be molested. \nWe have become numb to statistics, so please allow me to share some personal encounters. I have not lived long, and I have not seen much. But I have seen enough: a man unfaithful to his wife, a friend sexually abused by her own father, a baby abandoned in a garbage can. \nLooking around at the present state of affairs, most would agree that something has gone desperately wrong. The source of our infirmities remains a subject of debate. Are people good? If so, why do they do such wicked things? \nSome would argue that education is the answer. Education will liberate society. But has it worked so far? Is wickedness only limited to the ignorant of our society? If education were the answer, a university should be one of safest places on earth. But it is not. We still have to lock our bikes lest they get stolen. We still worry about rape. Theft is a regular occurrence. Throughout history, educated and ignorant alike have been guilty of evil. Education is not the ultimate solution.\nOthers say psychology holds the keys to liberating society. Good psychology can cure serious mental illness, but it has it limits. Making a choice involves two factors: the act of choosing and the various feelings and impulses that compose a person's psychological makeup. Psychology attempts to correct abnormalities, thus giving someone better raw material for making choices. \nBut the act of choosing still remains, and a healthy mind does not mean a person will not still choose evil. Is the man who cheats on his wife mentally unsound? No. He simply chooses to please himself though it hurts others. \nWherein lies the problem? Let us turn once more to the search for humanity's goodness. We have left one stone unturned. Look in the mirror. Look past the clothes, past the image you project, and past others' perception of you. Look deep inside. Have you ever lied? Cheated? Betrayed someone? Gossiped about a friend? Hated? Stolen? Taken advantage or manipulated someone? \nWhere lies the source of wickedness? We are the source. We are the problem. We have a propensity for doing wrong. \nHumans are amazing creatures, possessing the ability to reason, learn, and create. Yet we are depraved. What will it take to be healed? There is no point in searching for a cure until we realize we are diseased. And that begins with an honest look inside. I hope you take one.