Last week, a gunman killed five girls at an Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania. When a tragedy like this happens and receives the firestorm of media coverage this did, people begin to ask questions. They want to know what would motivate a grown man to slaughter innocent children. But the desire for a broader explanation must be avoided at all cost. Something can be learned here, but it's a lesson many recklessly continue to ignore. There is evil in this world and it is blind and unthinking. As such, it needs no motivation.
Too often the desire to understand evil gives way to the urge to externalize its source. In the case at hand, investigators are speculating on possible childhood trauma that might have driven the murderer to commit such an atrocity. But what such a response ultimately achieves is a sanction of evil. When a society begins to make excuses for the wicked among it, acceptance of their behavior is implied.
One of the most common mistakes is the urge to turn on the evening news, watch the highlight reel of iniquity it regularly guarantees and then sit back and ask, What is wrong with the world today? But this is a misguided generalization. There can be no inherent evil in a society or culture. The source of evil begins and ends with the individual. Along that journey, however, the excuses are plentiful. But every attempt to explain away evil only empowers it further.
Anything short of clinical insanity is not an excuse for evil acts, and to even introduce such explanations into the debate is harmful. In the fallout of 1999's Columbine massacre, attempts to tie the gunmen's depravity to their exposure to violent media were rampant. It misses the point to blame hard rock musicians, video game developers and television producers than to confront the heart of the issue. The men involved were evil to the bone, and any attempt to externalize their depravity only succeeds in excusing it.
Another common excuse is childhood trauma. Last week's gunman reportedly left a note to his wife saying he was seeking revenge for a traumatic event that happened 20 years ago. But even violent or sexual abuse in one's childhood does not excuse passing such hatred on to others. Wickedness is not hereditary, nor can it really be taught. At a certain point it has to be taken in and accepted by the individual as his or her own way of life. This choice ' not fate, surroundings, upbringing or anything else ' is the only true source of evil.
It is often said that empathy is a virtue, but in dealing with evil it is usually fatal. This sort of mentality leads to valuing compassion and understanding over the justice and righteous indignity that evil must be met with. It is true that there is great healing power in forgiveness, but one must remain selective in deciding to whom it should be granted. A father of one of the victims of last week's shooting said he immediately forgave the killer, but such unconditional compassion only invites more slaughter. Some acts are simply irredeemable, and murder is among them.
Most chilling of all is when an entire culture becomes fixated with depravity. When this happens, evil is placed on a pedestal it simply does not deserve. Too often our pop culture obsesses over mobsters, serial killers, drug dealers, thieves and other brands of thug. But even the smartest and most charismatic of the thugs is still a thug at the end of the day. They do not deserve the admiration of civilized people.
So the next time you see a tragedy unfold on the evening news, remember that its cause is simpler than it might seem. Evil exists, it is real and it doesn't need a motivation. It might not make sense, but good people don't need to understand it to combat it. The important thing is not to accept it. There is no excuse for evil, but what doesn't help is an environment in which it is ignored, tolerated, accepted or even glorified. All of our current responses only succeed in promoting it and inviting its perpetuation. The only solution is all-out societal rejection of such behavior. Anything less is a compromise with evil, which always ensures its victory.
The only way evil can win is if it is granted permission. Let's stop handing it out for a change.
17 Archives
Joe Vance
