The fight against evil (PROFOUND & POWERFUL - MUST READ!)

RenewAmerica.us ^ | 4/2/2006 | Fred Hutchison

[Dark Skies]

(EXCERPT)What is a common example of disbelief in evil? A person who calls terrorists "freedom fighters" is giving away the fact that he does not believe they are evil. If the random murder of civilians by zealous fanatics is not evil, then nothing is evil. Therefore, it is a fair deduction that many of those who do not believe the terrorists are evil also do not believe in the existence of evil.

Those who deny the existence of evil are often outraged when good men give evil a name and fight against it. This outrage sometimes prompts them to take the side of evil. Their wish to vindicate their stand that evil does not exist naturally leads them to become apologists and defenders of evil.

The term "freedom fighters" confers praise to evil. The defense of evil can be very close to the admiration of evil. Evil is seductive precisely because it is secretly admired by deeply-buried chambers of darkness in the human heart. Therefore, it is very difficult to defend evil without slipping into the veiled admiration of evil. This is why the ACLU has slipped from defending evil clients because they have constitutional rights, to having solidarity with miscreants and enthusiasm in their advocacy of evil causes.

[Dark Skies]

From the article...

The dark journey downward into evil

The passage from truth to the hideous delusion that evil is admirable--and even good--is a journey through shadowy corridors and through several levels of descent into darkness. This journey into darkness typically has at least seven stages. They are like seven levels of dark basements that one descends in series.

1) The first floor down into the darkness involves denial that one is a sinner. One remains there until he erects defenses against the idea that he is a sinner. Then he can resume his downward descent. The place is dark because the defenses of denial will not allow light to intrude.

2) From the stage-one denials, the journey into darkness proceeds downwards to a second denial--the denial that evil exists. This is followed by the erection of defenses against the idea of evil.

3) Then comes the descent into the delusion that those who fight evil are themselves evil: (a) "You must be evil because you say those nice freedom fighters are evil," and (b) "You must be evil for breaking our 'speak no evil' rule. You shock our sensibilities by telling us about the disturbing things that those nice gays are doing."

4) Next comes the hatred of those who fight evil. Hatred is a crucial stage in the developmental process of evil and leads to many delusions. Without hatred, paranoid conspiracy theories and poisoned ideologies cannot come into existence.

5) The fifth floor down into darkness is to believe--or to be willing to tell the lie--that evil things are good, and good things are evil. "Woe unto them who call evil, good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." (Isaiah 5:20)

6) The sixth stage is to hate the victims of evil or to hate those whom the good guys are protecting. When professor Ward Churchill called the victims of the 9/11 terror bombings "little Eichmanns"--i.e., like Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi mass murderer--he was functioning at the sixth level of evil and hatred.

7) The seventh stage of evil is serial killing, terrorism, and genocide.

[Zacs Mom]

"The descent from truth to the darkened level where one calls evil good, and good evil, requires intense hatred. ... The Communist recruiters had to soften up their candidates by teaching them to hate."

[Northern Yankee]

Bingo!

When I read in the days after 9/11 that Reuters refused to use the word "Terrorists" in any of their writings about the attack, I knew we as a nation were in trouble.

If the newsmedia can't recognize evil when its on display right in front of them, then when will they?

[Dark Skies]

Some nuggets worth pointing out from the article...

Those who trust in the power of truth feel no need to shout.

...our battle is not one of good versus evil, but of truth versus evil.

When a society denies the existence of evil, the forces of evil are given cover.

The descent from truth to the darkened level where one calls evil good, and good evil, requires intense hatred.

[tet68]

Good article, liked the C.S.Lewis quotes.

"We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst."

[Ditter]

bump for later

[beyond the sea]

Quite a comparison ........... but Manson could at least play a little guitar.

;-)

[divine_moment_of_facts]

I'm sure we all see the correlation between the decent into evil and the democratic party.

[B.O. Plenty]

Bump

[beyond the sea]

When I read in the days after 9/11 that Reuters refused to use the word "Terrorists" in any of their writings about the attack, I knew we as a nation were in trouble. If the newsmedia can't recognize evil when its on display right in front of them, then when will they?

They won't ever call them terrorists .......the old media IS evil.

****

The old/liberal/socialist media is the most ruthless and destructive enemy of this country.

The bristly Joe McCarthy was right, David Horowitz and others are right today, and anyone who understands this Plame/Scooter/Blame/Game understands.

The REDS are here and well and out to kill this relatively young country!

[IncPen]

A long but very worthy read...

[onyx]

It's no accident that schools of journalism are far left.

Power of the pen, mightier than the sword.

[beyond the sea]

Power of the pen, mightier than the sword.

Yes, Mame!

Gotta get back out in the nursery. Take care of the country while I'm in the compost........

;-)

[onyx]

LOL!

[Sender]

I was trolling the DU threads this morning and I couldn't help but notice that the most vitriolic seething hatred was reserved for various well-known Christian pastors. I mean, hatred is common over there but the depth of spitting, cursing vehemence hurled at Christians is overwhelming. Indeed, they have reached the point where good is evil. Not so ironically, many of the worst posters' screen names begin with "Dark". I have to take a shower now.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Going to DU is often a descent into the pit, and you come out coated with their slime....

[MHGinTN]

Their wish to vindicate their stand that evil does not exist naturally leads them to become apologists and defenders of evil. And of course, The passage from truth to the hideous delusion that evil is admirable--and even good--is a journey through shadowy corridors and through several levels of descent into darkness. The current defense and even promotion in abortion of alive unborn children is the classic example of the above descent. Now, we've descended so low that conceiving and killing the conceived for their body parts is praised as good and enlightened work for medicine. And the leaders of a political party fully invested in the promotion and defense of these evil behaviors are considered heroic, champions of ultimate good, and defenders of 'the children'.

[GiovannaNicoletta]

BTTT

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Revelations 9:20,21. Describes a mindset that reminds me of today.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

"The Abolition of Man" by Lewis is a fairly short book and a good read. It starts off with the mundane pedagogical question of teaching texts, and how to recognize good literature. This cannot be answered without first examining the question of how you train a student emotionally, that is, how to train the emotions to support man's reason against the demands of self (desire.) As he proceeds, he expands his subject to examine the question of the deliberate attempt of modern social planners to replace existing morality with a new morality, and in doing this, to attempt a remake of the nature of society itself.

Lewis contends that these planners are wrong, that you may improve upon existing morals, but you cannot truly alter them. Modern thought rather obscures morality and direct us rather to follow our desire rather than reason, with predictable destructive consequences. The book ends with an examination of the results of this planning, and the way in which the planners will see the futility of their actions, their contempt for the subjects of their planning and their use of them without regard for happiness.

Again, this is a excellent book written by informed and intelligent man who was in a good position to see in his time and society the processes of modern social revolution destroying the best aspects of western society and thought. We, of course, see the outcomes which he forsaw.

[MHGinTN]

Lewis's book is an excellent 'probe' to use when seeking to determine if someone is a drivelling liberal.

[little jeremiah]

Looks like an excellent read.

[slimer]

Those who deny the existence of evil are often....

using an excuse for denying God.

[TXnMA]

This article reminds me of a recent discussion...

[Zacs Mom]

"Power of the pen, mightier than the sword."

It is indeed!! What is really detrimential to our nation is the fact that too many Americans fail to understand that most of what they read in our papers and see on television is the product of only a handful of giant corporations and that The War on Terror and the attacks on "religion" in America are on-going examples of the dishonest and blatantly incendiary "reporting" by agenda driven representatives of these mega-corporations' ~ reporting specifically intended to undermine national and international confidence in President Bush and his administration and to undermine the moral foundation of this "one nation under God".

Yet, under the Clinton Administration (and despite laws specifically designed to prevent it) merger after merger took place within the media industry until finally, by the end of the millennium, a handful of mega-corporations totally controlled the flow of news, information and entertainment within this country ~
this includes books, magazines, television, newspapers, movies, music, internet access, etc.,etc.  

The actual number of corporations dominating most of every mass medium dropped, under clinton's administration, from from 23 media firms to 6 mega-media corporations by the Spring of 2000!

But even this number is deceiving ~ the power and influence of these mega-conglomerates is understated by counting them as 'six.' For, in reality, these six are actually intertwined: they own stock in each other, they cooperate in joint media ventures, and among themselves they divide profits from some of the most widely viewed programs on television, cable and movies.

  As foreseen by the Supreme Court in 1945, this consolidation of power and control has been to the detriment of us all as the media role has shifted from ensuring democracy to undermining the function of true democracy

Under this condensed, goal oriented management, our nation's "Guardians Of The Peoples Right to Know" have mutated into little more than "information brokers" and "opinion shapers" who present very specific information in a manner which meets a very specific agenda.   Shielded behind the cloak of 'journalism' and without regard for truth, accuracy, or impartiality, a countless variety of sources now continually present us with carefully manufactured versions of world events. Sadly, most citizens are completely unaware that 'news' stories repeated by numerous, and seemingly 'different' sources are actually a single, unencumbered voice.

A review of the outrageously provocative "coverage" of Hurricane Katrina and NOLA serves to underscore the extent to which the "MSM" has joined forces with the radical left in an all out effort to sow hatred, spread racial fears and use this manufactured discontent to overthrow a standing president. Such a review clearly demonstrates that the media is not merely complaisant in this assault on America and the presidency of George W. Bush but that they, in fact, active participants!


The above Joseph Pulitzer quote appears on an inscribed plaque visible to all upon enter the halls of the Columbia School of Journalism.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Lewis was surrounded by these types. He was observant and had a highly developed ability for devestating literary characterization. He used it very effectively in his writings.

[jeffc]

Mere truth is very potent by itself, and we actually diminish the force of truth if we use words or actions that are more forceful that the circumstances require.

In the heat of an argument, I've certainly been guilty of that. I must keep this little nugget in the back of my thoughts.

[hosepipe]

[ This article reminds me of a recent discussion... ]

I was not comfortable with using the word 'evil' in association with terrorism from day one.. Walk out your front door and there is evil all around you.. Might even be a little or a lot within your gates.. Words are important.. thats the wrong word I believe.. actually it diverts attention from what terrorism really is.. "mass murder".. even "selective and random murder".. mayhem and anarchy..

Democracy which is Mob Rule is rule by mobsters.. Killing terrorists to produce democracy is fraught with error.. and is cognitive dissonance.. Words are important.. Most words used to explain the current terrorism, I've heard, don't get close to what evil is.. I think more evil than terrorism is democracy.. which produces socialism, which is slavery of the people by government.. Terrorism is performed by gangs as is democracy.. Democracy vs. Terrorism is gang warfare for territory.. Little wonder the socialists of this world and terrorists are loosely united..(i.e. american democrats)..
---------------------------
Democracy is the road to socialism. Karl Marx

Democracy is indispensable to socialism. The goal of socialism is communism. V.I. Lenin

The meaning of peace is the absence of opposition to socialism.- Karl Marx

[RightField]

bump for later read

[onyx]

My heart leaped when I spotted this post from you to me!
Answered prayers! You have to be on the mend.
You're a cherished FRiemd.

BTTT your post!

[TXnMA]

I'm beginning to think I know who has pulled the wool over your eyes...

[kstewskis]

Those who deny the existence of evil are often outraged when good men give evil a name and fight against it. This outrage sometimes prompts them to take the side of evil. Their wish to vindicate their stand that evil does not exist naturally leads them to become apologists and defenders of evil.

The oldest trick in the book.

Obviously, it's been working on human kind since the beginning of time.

I hope for some of their sakes, these "defenders of evil" dummy up and wake up to reality. That said, I'm not confident it'll happen.

[onyx]

BUMP!

[beyond the sea]

bump....... II

[TXnMA]

"I was not comfortable with using the word 'evil' in association with terrorism from day one"

Check out Isaiah 5:20...

[Max in Utah]

Power of the pen, mightier than the sword.

Except in a swordfight.

[onyx]

LOL! Right!

[hosepipe]

[ I'm beginning to think I know who has pulled the wool over your eyes... ]

If I'm a sheep my eyebrows already are wool.. If I'm a goat.. well goats are hairy too..

[H.Akston]

I was not comfortable with the use of the words "national tragedy" from day one. 9-11 was a disaster - a man-made disaster as opposed to Hurricane Katrina's (which was worse). A natural disaster is nobody's fault. An UNNATURAL DISASTER is what 911 should have been called. The whole idea of folding FEMA under the "department of homeland security" is an admission that "homeland security" is involved in the prevention of both natural and unnatural disasters.

911 was an unnatural disaster because radical islam is an unnatural act. Unnatural is defined in this context as originating from the supernatural - in the case of 911 - from the devil in man, or "evil".

[Zacs Mom]

I'm hoping I'm on the mend but I won't know whats going on until sometime later this week ~ I've got a major test set for Wednesday and then a review of the results on Thursday. I'm still so darned weak it is frustrating but I can manage a bit more each day (I think) ~

I am looking forward to getting past this testing stage and moving on with treatment (whatever that maybe) ~ I'd love to be able to do at least some of the little things around here, like vacuuming. lol

I think the spring-cleaning bug is nibbling at me and making me itch to get busy!

(((((((((thanks for the continued prayers))))))))))

[onyx]

You have my continued prayers.

I'm telling you, I was thrilled to see your post!
Spring has sprung here, but I am not motivated to do ANY cleaning.

[betty boop]

Evil is essentially narcissistic. It serves no higher causes. It appropriates higher causes, like Islamic devotion to Allah, to serve its own narcissistic ends of hatred and revenge. Those energized by evil will always be able to find the grist for their conspiracy theories and propaganda mills to keep their programs of hate in operation....

It is astonishingly naive to suppose that the anti-American hate-machine will close down if we are nicer to jihadists. This would be like telling Jews in Nazi Germany that it was their own fault they were on their way to the gas chambers because they were not nice enough to the Nazis. The Nazis took the Jews who were nice to them and put them in charge of torturing the other Jews--so that pure German hands were not soiled with the filth of Jewish untouchables….

Evil exists, boys and girls, and it is not reasonable. It cannot be bargained away, placated, appeased, or persuaded. It will keep on coming until someone has the moral courage to stand against it….

The fastest way to breed a monster is to tell a child that evil does not exist, and then to tell the child that he is an angel. The self-esteem movement of the 1970's and 1980's did more to inculcate the denial of evil than any other movement of the recent past. It bred a culture of narcissism and denial that is the breeding ground of evil….

Most men of great evil have both an inflated sense of pride and an impenetrable denial of evil….

How are narcissism and denial interrelated? Well, inordinate self-love, self-absorption, and pride are delusional. One cannot sustain a delusion without denial. As the delusions of pride are inflated, higher and higher walls of defense and denial must be constructed. Of course, the more absurd one's illusions, the easier they are to puncture with reality. Vulnerable illusions must be sheltered behind thick walls.

Wonderful essay, TXnMA! I especially appreciate the discussion of C.S. Lewis’ “men with chests,” and his insistence that education above all is about training in virtue. These “ancient ideas” are little appreciated in our own culture today, seemingly for the reason that we no longer take the problem of evil seriously. Increasingly we live in a “headless world” in which reason itself has become “unreasonable.” It should little surprise us that our culture is increasingly narcissistic and given over to sensuality -- not to mention the construction of quite monstrous second realities to which society's children are actively being recruited as we speak. (e.g., the "gay lifestyle" [an oxymoron if ever I heard one], the doctrine of Jihad, etc., etc.)

Thanks so much for the ping, TXnMA. The article deserves further reflection.

[FBD]

bump and bookmark

"...It is astonishingly naive to suppose that the anti-American hate-machine will close down if we are nicer to jihadists. This would be like telling Jews in Nazi Germany that it was their own fault they were on their way to the gas chambers because they were not nice enough to the Nazis. The Nazis took the Jews who were nice to them and put them in charge of torturing the other Jews--so that pure German hands were not soiled with the filth of Jewish untouchables.

Evil exists, boys and girls, and it is not reasonable. It cannot be bargained away, placated, appeased, or persuaded. It will keep on coming until someone has the moral courage to stand against it."

[CyberAnt]

It seems very obvious - even their "culture of corruption" fits right in line with this article.

Just yesterday, Pelosi was defending McKinney's actions as "no big deal".

Thanks for posting this article Dark Skies, it's very enlightening.

[Dark Skies]

Glad you liked! I thought it was a great find.

[ChessExpert]

Excellent article.

I started copying and pasting some especially good text fragments, but there were too many.

Some of my absolute favorites are in post 5.

I checked the reference in post 36 and it's hard to put down!

Those who think religion and intellect are at odds could learn otherwise by reading this article. Unfortunately many of our better minds have been led astray. But they may yet return to a path that is straight and true.

Thanks for posting the article!

[ChessExpert]

When I read in the days after 9/11 that Reuters refused to use the word "Terrorists" in any of their writings about the attack, I knew we as a nation were in trouble.

Good point.

"Those who deny the existence of evil are often outraged when good men give evil a name and fight against it."

The reaction to speeches referring to evil come to mind:
Ronald Reagan referring to the Soviet Union under communism as the "Evil Empire"
George W. Bush's identification of the "Axis of Evil"

[attiladhun2]

In the coming war in our country you know who the DUmmycrats will side with. Many of these same posters at DU with names like "Dark this" and "Dark that" will be persuaded to put on suicide vests or join the "reconquistas". Vermin does what vermin is.

[attiladhun2]

Democracy is the road to socialism. Karl Marx
Which is why the Founders were against establishing a democracy. The word they used for "socialism" was "democracy" because they had seen in ancient Greece and Rome how factions could use the power of the people's votes to transfer wealth from one group to another. They could thereby keep themselves in power by voting more largesse to their constituents. Sounds very much like today, which is why the present system will eventually collapse because of high taxation and accumulated debt.