A Study In Evil
From Google Images- Playbuzz
Several people have encouraged me to turn The Night Gods into a book. Being that both parts I & II are s study in morality, it would have to include them both, so I thought I'd do a preview of what will likely be the forward, which begs the question... What is evil? Is it what Hollywood would have us believe from movies such as The Exorcist? Or perhaps it's more akin to the Omen series where the antichrist grows up to be a world leader. This is probably closer to the truth, but it still focuses too much on the supernatural aspects... as does religion.
There's an old axiom that Satan's greatest accomplishment was convincing the world that he doesn't exist. Taking this one step further- if Satan doesn't exist, then evil only exists as an abstract concept. As an abstract concept, evil throws the door wide open for any number of interpretations. Evil, however, is not an abstract concept. Quite simply put, evil is merely the absence of morality- evil is as evil does, in other words.
Evil, in fact, is something much more practical- banal, as Hannah Arendt so eloquently put it... it's all around us in our everyday lives. Everything we do is either good or evil- moral or immoral. There is no moral neutrality- no gray areas. Although atheists and humanists argue that good and evil/moral and immoral are subjective terms... they most certainly are not. Without a concrete set of principles, civilization falls apart- if you don't believe me, just watch the news. What you see is the direct result of moral relativism.
Given that both parts of the Night Gods are horror stories, as well the second being a political thriller (I hate that word, I've never written anything that "thrilled" me), some distinctions about the nature of horror are necessary. What is horror? According to Merriam Webster: "horror: a very strong feeling of fear, dread, and shock." In the prologue to The Night Gods II, I pose the question: What's more horrific- Linda Blair spinning her head around and throwing up pea soup... or, a smart bomb going down the chimney of a hospital killing hundreds of women and children? For me it is most assuredly the latter. One is sensational (causing a visceral reaction) the other actually terrifying. A distinction between bizarre and horrifying must be made.
In my stories, I try to weave the truth into fiction... to show evil for what it really is. Evil is not always bizarre... Bad people don't necessarily look like the villain in a Rob Zombie, or Roger Corman movie. They look like you and me. Many hold high offices and are in positions of authority. Sometimes "fake news" isn't fake and more often than not, the "real news" is. Like George Orwell so eloquently wrote: "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
GIF by @papa-pepper
Evil is all around us in our everyday lives with everything we do or touch its either good or evil but that could be different to someone else as what exactly makes one choice good or bad hmmm
Actions that are only "good" for one person is a manifestation of selfishness, therefore evil. If I steal all of your money, it's good for me, bad for you.
i've come to think of evil as being antithetical to the continued survival of life - human, flora and fauna alike. evil kills life in all its forms. satan or lucifer in the christian mythos hates all of god's creations after the heavenly host and seeks to totally obliterate them. so i equate immorality with anything or anybody that wants to destroy the earth or the creatures that need a healthy environment to survive and thrive
I'm with you there, linking "evil" with "destruction" and to me, birth/life and death/destruction are natural cycles.
Yes... it's predicated on destruction... not only of life, but love anything positive!
To keep within Christian ideology: we are here in this world, with the "knowledge" of good and evil. You cannot have a concept of good without being able to identify it against the concept of evil. I often wonder that outside of this realm, the aspects of "good and evil" are not so important and ominous.
Here there is this duality, and we must "choose" a side it seems. As you indicate, every action - big AND small - is a choice to do "good" or "evil, and being a "good" or "evil" person is not as obvious as they make it seem in the movies.
One confusing part of the dichotomy is that nobody can be either good or evil... only actions can be judged. For example Hitler (the posterboy for evil) loved children and dogs... does that make him good or evil? Neither, only a flawed human being... much of what did politically was beneficial for Germany (but bad for the rest of Europe).
Evil often disguises in outer beauty.
Even Lucifer - the second in command in Heaven, was the most beautiful creation... until his fall.
The heart is giving witness - the fruit bears it - for all to see.
And a good tree does not bear bad fruit (or something like that- I'm terrible quoting Bible verses. I just know what's in there) You're right. That's a lot of the point I was making with the Rob Zombie reference. I had one of his more bizarre pics on my Fakebook profile. People kept saying, "Take that down, it's evil!" I would reply, no that's bizarre." I would show a pic of Nicole Kidman or Sharon Stone and say- That's evil!
Point well taken - appearances often deceive.
The Elephant man - big heart - ugly as heck on the outside.
Don't judge the book by its cover but by its content.
For me, the words good and evil have too many connotations with religion and so I prefer to use the terms moral and immoral instead. I am always shocked by how easy it is for perfectly ‘ordinary’ people to perform totally immoral acts. I was reminded of this very recently after reading the book ‘Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution’ by Christopher R. Browning. The book shows how men from many walks of life will, under the right conditions, perform acts such as mass shootings of Jews with little or no compelling or coercion. Many of the men involved became so totally desensitised to the killings that they looked upon them as merely routine. Very few showed enough moral courage to refuse to take part. It is easy for many of us to say “I would never do that” but it is worrying to think how I would behave if I was put into that moment in time and the same situation as those men. I hope that I would have the strength of character to say no. I do have the uneasy feeling however that many of us are precariously balancing on a tight rope of morality and it wouldn’t take much to tip us over into immoral acts. Very thought provoking post. Thank you.
I agree. Hannah Arendt's book The Banality of Evil is about the Nuremberg Trials... The Nazi's all claimed "they were just doing their job."
Psychopaths devoid of morality.
Sounds like you've read the story!
I'd love to get into it over "neutral" morality, but no time ;)
Absolutely agree that good and evil exists, and that not everything is "neutral"
I look at this in terms of the yin-yang; an evil act in some circumstances can have good outcomes...but then again most of my philosophy is utilitarian.
Good one, Rich!
When it comes to good and evil, or morality there can be no neutral. An evil act is an evil act regardless of the outcome! The outcomes of many of Hitler's evil acts were beneficial to Germany (in the short term at least)
If I eat a steak, that is a neutral act; it is not good it is not evil
If I torture a terrorist to suss out a WMD, it is an evil act with a good result (if you accept that torure is always an evil act)
SOME actions are always evil.
If you eat a steak, It's good for you, bad for the cow (providing you're not a health nut). You made my point- actions are good or evil- not people!
I would say people that make the decision to commit multiple evil acts is evil, tho.
OTOH, there is a point in these arguments where semantics outnumber practicalities; when it comes down to it, it is the individual who makes the decision HOW he is going to act at any given time
It's a valid point... I'm saying that there's no discernable cutoff point so to speak. Like 60/40 or maybe 75/25... It's a matter of having to judge each action individually.
Agreed.
Every act must be judged in it's own circumstances, but based upon an understanding of Good and Evil
My point exactly!
if you want/need a hand putting this thing together, please feel free to reach out.
I'm waiting to hear back from Marty, the guy that did the art. A lot of it's up to him, I'll need his help also. I'm really old and not in the greatest help... I can use all the help I can get. I don't want to enjoy the benefits posthumously!
Mailed you back yesterday, should I send it again?
I guess so. I didn't get it... The last I got was the link to Lulu
Very strange, I just sent it again!
Got it... It went to spam!
Amazing post
Well May I Ask something , What is True evil for you if we don't accept the evil figures in the religious text and holywood movies. Supernatural Evil thingy is not realistic for me . Cool piece of writing btw.
Supernatural evil is not real for me either. Religion is the creation of man, not God... Like David Thewlis said in Kingdom of Heaven: "By the word religion, I see the lunacy of fanatics of every denomination being called the will of God... Holiness lies in right action... what you decide to do every day, you will be a good man- or not."
True evil for me is people consumed with themselves- myopic selfishness. The lust for power is evil. Actions are evil- not people.
Amazing post