Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 26, 1995 TAG: 9504260055
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CAL THOMAS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
When Ronald Reagan applied the word to the Soviet Union - ``evil empire,'' he called it - sophisticated commentators were shocked that a word they regarded as crude was employed by a national leader. But what other explanation satisfactorily describes such a despicable act or a soul-destroying government that causes men and women to sob in grief and others to declare their lives drained of meaning and joy?
Great writers have grappled with the concept of evil - Shakespeare's ``the evil that men do lives after them; the good is often interred with their bones'' - and popular culture explains it with such notions as ``Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts and minds of men?'' and such movie symbols as Darth Vader.
Acknowledging the existence of evil - not just evil people but evil itself - is a prerequisite to understanding and controlling it. Denying that evil exists, and that it is a proper metaphor for the worst kind of behavior, ensures that evil will prosper.
The dictionary is of some help. It defines evil as ``morally reprehensible; sinful, wicked; arising from actual or imputed bad character or conduct.'' This presumes a standard of good conduct against which evil may be measured. It also indicates that evil begins in a heart and works outward and is not created by one's circumstances or environment. Such a notion contradicts most modern teaching and philosophy.
Evil is as old (older, really) than the second chapter of Genesis where God instructs Adam, ``You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.'' If evil existed at the time of Creation, this suggests that evil and its author came before. Is this what New York Times columnist Bob Herbert was getting at when he wrote of the Oklahoma City tragedy: ``From what universe beyond the one that most of us inhabit does this kind of evil arise?''
Will this horror teach us anything, or will we allow the shock to subside and eventually be able to look back on it with detached and emotionless hindsight?
Those who would do such evil things show the capacity of humanity uncontrolled by the restraining influences of an inner power and a culture that believes evil must not only be resisted but opposed.
While we have always had with us those who would kill the innocent, rarely have we thrown a party and celebrated the killers and the profit potential of their acts. Even now there must be lawyers jockeying for the position of defense counsel and thinking about exclusive rights to books and movies.
The O.J. Simpson trial has shown us how easily we can forget about the innocent dead and focus instead on the side issues and nonissues as we pay homage to the cult of celebrity.
Once God defined the norms of our society, but we decided we could do a better job. To speak of evil requires a knowledge of its opposite, good, and good's author. Otherwise, evil is simply a label we apply to actions a majority likes the least at a given moment. This floating ``standard'' is not permanent, but for the moment only, and it can be changed or shaded when public opinion requires something new.
A nation that rejects a universal standard eventually experiences an Oklahoma City tragedy. If hate groups are proliferating, if evil seems ever more the norm and not the exception, perhaps it is time to re-examine the old values and seek the one who defines good.
- Los Angeles Times Syndicate
by CNB