Essay on Evil

How does one deal with evil? There are three options. The first option is to embrace evil entirely. The second is to try and integrate evil into one’s life in a way such that it does not consume one entirely. And the third is to try and stamp it out completely. Each has its own perils, advantages, and disadvantages.

            The first type—the type that embraces evil entirely—will find a great deal of pleasure in expressing their evil, in whatever form that may take. Inevitably they will chosoe a particular scapegoat. But, also inevitably, they will feel an intense backlash and will have to suffer incredible pains for their evil. And, also inevitably, their legacy will be one of evil.

            The second type—the type who integrates evil into their lives in a way such that it does not consume them entirely—is perhaps the most sophisticated option. They will find sly ways of expressing their evil. They may even garner a certain respect and notoriety for it. However, they will rarely taste the fruit of self-actualization. Because they are so concerned with towing the line, they will never know what it means to fall freely.

            And finally, the third type—those who try and stamp evil out of themselves entirely—these are perhaps the bravest, most radical souls of all. They will suffer immensely, but not at the hands of others, but by the hand of God. For there is much vanity in this approach to evil. In a sense, it is an attempt to make one’s self like God, and therefore God will inevitably be jealous of him. But the reward will be a legacy of good. Perhaps nothing else is guaranteed this type. And in a sense, this is very tragic, if not very noble.

            Evil can certainly be a source of strength, but more often it is a weakness. And in reality, it is never objective. One man’s good is another man’s evil. It’s as arbitrary as the meaning of one man’s life in relation to the universe. But it is still a choice that one must make over and over again.