I have wondered about the distinction between good and evil for most of my life. And for the longest time I trusted that people had very good and rational reasons for the distinctions that they make. Let me be clear before I make any absolute statements that I believe in the fundamental good of man. There is something in us that’s built for collaboration and collective good(clearly not making sweeping statements). But boy are we an impressionable bunch. The same things that make us good at collaboration can be used for manipulation. We long so much to fit in with others that we ignore fundamental wrongs in the world. And does this apathy and lack of action in the face of insurmountable problems make a person bad?
There’s a sketch from Mitchell and Webb where the nazi soldiers come to realization that they are the bad guys. I mean from their point of view all they’ve been doing is fight in a war. There are soldiers in all wars that know little or nothing about the atrocious things that are happening all around them. Or have little to no influence on the collective. And yet it’s tough to think of any nazi as a decent human being. I find it really tough to wrap my head around the idea as well. How could a fundamental truth like that possibly be fallible.
So why are we still shouting at each other trying to classify things as fundamentally good or evil? Why does it matter? And is there such a thing? Honestly I have no idea. I don’t have answers to any of these questions and probably never will. I look forward to thinking more on this and discussing with friends, colleagues, acquaintances and strangers. This would be my wish for the world. To discuss without judgement and anger. Like Obi-Wan I also failed the sith test and dealt with absolutes. But I think he turned out pretty ok.
