Dont forget Auschwitz Against Evil The worst, in the case of Eichmann was precisely that there were many men like him, and that these men were neither perverted nor sadistic, but were, and still are terrible and terrifyingly normal. From the viewpoint of our legal institutions and of our moral standards, this normality was much more terrifying than all the atrocities together, because it implied that this new type of offender (...) that actually deserve the qualification of hostis humani generis, commits his crimes under circumstances that almost prevented him know or intuit that performs evil act. Hanna Arendt Contemporary society is horrified by the massacres perpetrated by individuals in apparent attacks of madness, suffice it to recall the most recent example in Newtown, Connecticut. But few realize that these individuals were normal people. Such is the alienation and superficiality of everyday life that we do not realize that we are surrounded by people who are potentially capable of committing such heinous crimes. The main defect is very common in two attitudes that are the seeds of evil. First is the attitude of obedience to superiors. In authoritarian labor relations the word of chief is unquestionable, even if it is meaningless to ask logical or go against the ethical principles. That servile attitude or comfortable, because people evade their own responsibility, leads individuals to abandon their convictions, to do things against their knowledge and a false sense of loyalty to authority. Second is the lack of the ability to reflect, to use reason to analyze the reason for our actions and our motives. Most acts by inertia, sleepwalking, or zombies. No time to reflect and think about our actions, or worse, mental laziness becomes an acceptable and popular lifestyle. These attitudes to life are widespread and are a first step to act with moral indifference, where we do not care if others are affected by what we do, it trivializes the suffering, or in the words of Arendt, banal evil. Becoming sensitive to others and their needs, seek a more harmonious coexistence, act with altruism and generosity are the antidote we need. Spirituality and the ability to enjoy the beauty of Good must be cultivated. We must make a conscious effort to nurture our minds and hearts with the best ethical values and the best art. In the first century of our era was a man who said it was not enough to settle for a form of godliness, but it was necessary to examine our motives, we could be killers even in thought with attitudes like hatred. Jesus taught that even the passions could give rise to evil if we let these dominate our hearts. In the sixteenth century, Erasmus of Rotterdam, nurtured early Christian texts, stated clearly that the habit does not make the monk (monachatus non est pietas), ie it requires a genuine spiritual lifestyle, not only to appear socially a false spirituality. If we do not take time to strengthen our spirituality not surprise us that Auschwitz repeat before our eyes. initiumsapientia.blogspot/2012/12/contra-el-mal.html
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:43:06 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015