The Force of Evil

In 1960 my family moved to a small suburb north of Paris, France. In an effort to spear our learning of French our parents enrolled my brother and me in the local public school for our first year there. We were immediately immersed in all things French; learning that paper tissues were frowned on, that teachers expected us to bow our heads when we passed in front of them, that the preferred doneness for steak was nearly raw and that only 15 years prior there had been a terrible war that changed the lives of everyone around us. I was 12 years old and I suspect that I became aware of the pains of war and the hatred that perpetuates man’s cruelty to others a lot sooner and a lot more vividly that most of my compatriot American school children living on the mainland.

To add another dimension, we had moved from Baton Rouge, Louisiana where we relocated after living three years in Cuba. So, when we started saying “Oui” instead of “Si” I had already witnessed a revolution in Cuba and had felt the racial inequality of Louisiana; confusing my youthful mind. To me, racism was obviously wrong but here I was in a place where doing wrong was supported and approved by many, either tacitly or directly. Why were so many people around me oblivious to the obvious?

In France there were constant reminders surrounding us of the battles and inhumanities that had only recently been perpetrated there. Fifteen years after the end of the war there were still bombed out shells of buildings as testament to the ravages of war. At a very early age I began to ponder the question of evil; of the force that can influence and motivate mankind to engage in and perpetuate bad behavior. It is easier to understand how one person can be evil than how that one person can entice others to join in the evil. Hence, an early preoccupation with the phenomenon of Hitler. How was it possible, I would wonder, that so many people followed this man? How could it be that everyday people who were engaged in earning a living, cooking food, raising children, taking care of aging parents, enjoying a soft breeze and stealing kisses from loved ones could allow, even promote, the institutionalization of evil? Eventually, I concluded that Hitler and his success was proof that a quantifiable force of evil DOES exist and that it is capable of entrapping, ensnaring and deviating the human soul, en masse. Some would call this force the Devil. I also believed that whatever the force was that deviated the souls of so many during WWII it would never again invade humanity because the world had seen the Devil incarnate, had witnessed the power of evil and had suffered the consequences of allowing evil to wield its power. Mankind would never be so guileless as to allow their collective souls to become entranced and misled again.

But I was wrong. It is happening again. Multitudes of everyday people are once again embracing inhumanity. Behavior and tactics that are blatantly immoral and improper are now cheered and supported by hundreds of thousands of people who only a short time ago would have rejected, forthright, even an insinuation of accepting such behavior. Once again decent people have been lulled into accepting abuse and cruelty as the norm, malfeasance as a logical strategy to success, and mistrust and lies have overtaken confidence in authority and reverence for the truth. How does one do battle against a force of evil? How does one help lift the veil of confusion that has engulfed so many and led them to forego the values they have been raised to revere and respect?

As history repeats itself and we witness the gradual destruction of decency one cannot help but mourn the demise of the ideal that gave birth to our nation. The desire to ensure strong national borders is valid, commendable and even necessary. But there is a right way, a humane way, a way that sustains the belief that the United States is the beacon of hope and the defender of human rights. And there is a wrong way. A way that manipulates the truth and abuses the vulnerability of the least of us. A way that saddens the soul and confirms that THIS iteration of evil has so twisted the hearts and minds of those it has grasped that many angels will be required to bring it under control. Lord, have mercy on us.