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By Robert A. Vella

This world of ours keeps getting stranger and stranger.  The relentless march of time will do that to a person.  The longer they live, the less life seems familiar to them.  Everything changes.

But, there are constants too.  Human nature, for one, changes very little.  As a person accumulates the years, they have the opportunity to learn a great deal about people.  If this learning takes place, human reactions and responses can be anticipated almost to the point of predictability;  and, such familiarity is most welcomed in the latter stages of one’s life.

Except, that is, when an awareness of people paints a disturbing picture of our world.  Human nature has its altruistic and dark sides.  External stimuli, and other factors, can bring both to the surface.  In a healthy society, the warmness of people generally shines through.  In a troubled society, nastiness, heartlessness, and aggression prevail.  This cause-and-effect relationship between environment and behavior is as predictable as any aspect of our shared humanity.  Counting the dead of war provides important statistical information;  but, the true cost of such tragedies must be seen on the faces of its victims.

With all this in mind, here are some questions to ponder for a Sunday:

What makes a person see evil where there is no evil?

What makes a person so fearful of an injury never occurred nor likely to occur?

What makes an injured person deny the cause of their injury?

What makes two people see completely different images in the exact same picture?

What makes a person so desperate for love treat it with hostility?

What makes a person so yearn-full for peace embrace an attitude of aggression?

What makes a person sacrifice their own well-being just for an ideological cause?

What makes a person obsessed with controlling that which cannot be controlled?

8 thoughts on “Sunday Questions”

  1. To your questions:
    What makes a person see evil where there is no evil?
    Answer: the evil within that person.

    What makes a person so fearful of an injury never occurred nor likely to occur?
    Answer: innate fear of the unknowable.

    What makes an injured person deny the cause of their injury?
    Answer: fear of what the admission may demand re: change.

    What makes two people see completely different images in the exact same picture?
    Answer: one of two things. One: creativity; Two: programming.

    What makes a person so desperate for love [they?] treat it with hostility?
    Answer: fear of losing.

    What makes a person so yearn-full for peace [they?] embrace an attitude of aggression?
    Answer: same as above; fear of losing, the need to win.

    What makes a person sacrifice their own well-being just for an ideological cause?
    Answer: brainwashing. Lack of common sense and logic.

    What makes a person obsessed with controlling that which cannot be controlled?
    Answer: psychopathy.

    That’s how I see it anyway.

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      • A group of men in authority look upon a woman brought before them accused of adultery and denying her right to meet her accuser, in this case the man who raped her, condemn her to the torture of death by stoning. That is rank evil, and that evil is a deep seated lust, both individual and societal. The woman is no threat to them or their precious society. In the case I’m referring to, the woman had two children already, her husband had been killed and a man had seduced her with a promise to look after her and her children. In her desperate state, she agreed, he basically raped her and then left her pregnant. These men of authority were “nice enough” to allow her to come to term within the jail, give birth, then had her stoned to death. And what about those who perform the stoning? If that isn’t evil then you’re right: there is no evil, so why even talk about the plight of any victim, anywhere?

        What were the men who operated the Spanish inquisition if not evil personified?

        Evil is alive and well on planet earth. I had it within myself once and I came to recognize it for what it was. That is a most difficult act: to recognize evil because it hides or justifies itself with the most monstrous lies and the smoothest tongues. Take Obama as an example: there may never have been a more evil “president” of that empire and yet he still maintains an aura of credibility despite his public track record on war mongering, handing out billions of tax money to the 1% super rich and promoting Monsanto and international trade treaties, thus polluting the land with RoundUp and GMO crops and crushing the US economy beyond any hope of restoration. Why? For personal gain: power and then profit beyond his original wildest dreams. There’s evil personified… and most people are looking at the clown Donald Trump, a buffoon who couldn’t find his arsehole with both hands; who in all likelihood is another Clinton stooge bought and paid for to eliminate the GOP as a threat to Killary’s rise to the throne. And what are these Killary supporters, war makers and profiteers, if not evil beyond redemption? Now add to that the stupid who drives down your street at midnight, baffle-less or boom box blaring and shaking the ground as it passes… oh so slowly, and nothing to be done about it? Just having fun? How about “sport” hunting, and fishing of helpless wildlife – more fun? Child abuse? Misogyny? Racism? Not evil? All these acts are perpetrated by motivated individuals. Motivated how?

        The entire human social order is so saturated with evil, and has been so for so long it’s now part of the social order: people manage, until they can’t anymore, then logically violence ensues, and more evil is perpetrated. That’s history, and that’s right now.

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        • Time for a chill pill, Sha’Tara! I’ll not debate the metaphysical notions of “good” and “evil” with you on this post because it is WAY OFF TOPIC. You are welcome to comment on the specific posts I’ve written on that topic and we can debate there. But please, don’t try to hijack the subject matter of my articles. It is unwelcome, and my tolerance has limits.

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