For evil to triumph

This has been a particularly harrowing year and we still have two and a half months to go. Human rights violations continue to escalate and the Constitution and all it stands for is under attack. We are losing schools and building prisons. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue killing soldiers and civilians alike and there is a discussion to take on a conflict in yet another country. Congress can't seem to agree on a healthcare plan that will protect us all, joblessness is at an all time high and the economy is at an all time low. If this were a horror or disaster movie, I'd pull my jacket over my head or walk out of the theater.

If only this was a horror or disaster movie. Instead these tragic events are a merely a small representation of the worst in us. There have always been executions, wars, mass murders and child abuse. The difference is that we hear about it often and quickly given our technological advances. Collectively we sigh, express remorse, pain, sadness, anger, frustration and righteous indignation. But the worst thing we do is accept that this is way of the world and that there's nothing we can do about it. Shame on us!

Irish orator Edmund Burke is quoted as saying "all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." It would seem his words are prophetic. Yet there have been times when the exact opposite has been true. Many societal ills were recognized and rectified because good people decided enough was enough and then did something. The great social movements of the 19th and 20th century give testimony to that fact. Good men and women decided they could change the world that they could force evil into the light and make others join them in the fight. They used their bodies, their voices, their brains, their courage and yes, their righteous indignation, and changed history. Injustices were too powerful to ignore and eventually they could no longer remain quiet. Thus, many who originally felt powerless recognized the power of good, the power of organized battle and the power of justice.

The holy books of religion and literary classics show us over and over again how good people overcome adversity and triumph over evil. How can we, as people of conscious and faith, proclaim in our churches, mosques and synagogues that we believe in an all-powerful God and then allow evil to flourish? Are we not the tools God uses to bring justice and peace to the world? Do we not believe that we are reflections of God's love? If we truly believe in an all powerful, ever loving God, how can we not fight against the evil done in our names and in our midst?

I asked you in an earlier post what would you do in the face of all that is wrong with the world. I think I have a pretty good idea of what many of you would do. So maybe I asked the wrong question. Instead I'll ask if you plan to sit idlely by shaking your head at the evening news or will you write a letter, make a call, attend a rally or join a group? Only you know for sure.

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." As people of consciousness, let’s not allow “doing nothing” to be our legacy.