Evil is a Character Issue

In polite society, one is expected to refrain from calling anyone evil with the possible exception of Nazi extremists or serial killers. Many people who care neither for honesty nor politeness, however, readily accuse blameless folks of the utmost villainy. 

So, while courteous commentators hold back from exposing the wicked, the wicked go around lambasting the innocent, the compassionate, the rational for being evil. ‘Evil’, immoral manipulators tell us, are the refugees who escape from war zones, scientists who warn us of climate change and infectious diseases, politicians who want to help those in dire need, and anyone who complains about being mistreated because of their gender or ethnicity.

Have words like ‘good’ and ‘evil’ lost all their meaning? Have relativism, nihilism, irrationalism spread so widely that it is no longer possible to make clear moral judgements anymore?

It’s time we remind ourselves that evil is a character issue. Human reflections over centuries have found expressions in folk stories, fairy tales, and classic novels – all highlighting the traits we find praiseworthy: caring for others, standing up for the weak, defying oppressors, willing to explore the facts rather than acting rashly, delighting in the happiness of others; and correspondingly, putting the spotlight on the opposite characteristics that are repugnant and contemptible: being callous about the plight of others, taking advantage of the weak, obsequiously aiding the powerful in quashing the defenceless, deceiving others for personal gains, jumping to dangerous conclusions without any due consideration, seeking to inflict pain on others.

We know what evil is. We recoil from the Wicked Queen whose vanity drives her to have Snow White murdered. We are sickened by Iago whose hatred of the kind and noble Othello leads him to ruthless manipulations that destroy the lives of others. We despise Uriah Heep whose greed fuels his every move to ruin others to make greater gains for himself. We are repelled by Voldemort who cares only to gain power for himself and treats everyone else with disdain.

And we come across such characters in real life. They are the demagogues who will spread devastating lies to advance themselves; the self-righteous bigots who tirelessly goad people into hating those who are neglected and vulnerable; the plutocrats who use every trick in the book to make more money for themselves in ways that are unremittingly harmful to others; the powerful and irresponsible who enjoy getting away with intimidating, insulting, and injuring people who have not got enough resources to fight back.

Such people, with the support of social and mainstream media (which they own or have considerable influence over), will present themselves as ‘good’, models of ‘success’, heroes even. But look closely at their character – how they routinely mistreat other people, how they mock those less fortunate than themselves, how they actively seek to block and reduce help for people in need, how gleeful they respond to the sufferings of innocent people, how dismissive they are about the pain they have casually caused others, how they grovel before the more powerful and sneer contemptuously at the powerless.

It does not matter what office anyone may hold, or how wealthy they are. They are defined by their character. 

See them for what they are.