Sometimes I wonder if the root of what's happening today is more than just greed and lust for power.

[BigBearJohn]

but more essentially...

the fight between good and evil.

[ananda]

1. Umm

Evil has already won. There's no real fight any more.

[SeattleGirl]

2. I disagree. I think evil has the upper hand at the moment, but

I doubt it always will. There are still too many good people around, fighting against it.

[Greyhound]

7. Can you tell us when evil has ever not had the upper hand? n/t

[spinbaby]

4. But wait!

Do I see a hobbit approaching Mount Doom?

[Joe Fields]

3. where's the good?

[silverojo]

9. If you can't find it

You aren't looking very hard.

There are many good people doing good deeds every single day. It's just that the news tends to focus on evildoers, that's all.

[Joe Fields]

11. Well they damned sure aren't in politics.

[jpgray]

5. So far everything is explicable via greed and lust for power

It's truly pathological for some people, and long-term planning isn't so much a factor. It's more like the CEO for whom the current quarter is what matters, and all efforts are focused to make it a profitable one. Perhaps the next quarter, and nothing else, is all that merits future planning.

[panader0]

6. I'm no Christian but I like this one: "The love of money is the

root of all evil. Or something like that.

[stellanoir]

8. We live in a culture that rewards greed and self aggrandizement

regardless of the ethics involved.

The Aramaic etymological root of the word "evil" is "unripe" (i.e. requiring more sunlight aka spiritual consciousness.)

Let's hope and pray for that.

More specifics to be delivered prior to December 11th.

See you then.

[Maat]

10. Thanks for the post - it was enlightening (n/t)!

[whistle]

12. Well, that is a fight that can go on forever and has, BushCo and the neocons are simply criminals

...and need to be addressed exactly as criminals are. This is not about God and the devil

[tech3149]

13. I've never been able to define the world in such concrete terms

I think everyone can occupy some point on the spectrum between the two extremes at any given time. I've known good people exhibit unthinkable cruelty or self-serving behavior. I don't condemn them for those acts alone. They were choices made based on the world around them. I can't say I wouldn't have done the same in the same situation.

I've also known people that I thought had no positive social value undertake the most selfless humanitarian acts. We are all capable of doing the greatest good and the greatest evil, what matters most to me is how deliberate were the choices.

I would not condemn those that are doing such great harm to the world as being "evil" because that assumes a level of understanding of their thought's and reasoning. Some may be true believers in an ideology that has never been proven to work, or they go along because it has made their life comfortable. It might just be that they're happy to be willfully ignorant and compliant as long as it doesn't hurt their lifestyle. The only ones I would consider truly evil are those that know the harm they will cause and either don't care or revel in it. Since I can't read their minds or see their souls, I won't make that judgment.