"Kissing the War Goodbye"*

This image, captured by Alfred Eisenstaedt on V-J Day, is undeniably iconic, and quickly became the symbol for the end of the war on Japan. Shortly after President Truman announced this surrender that effectively ended WWII, an exodus of people flooded Times Square. Eisenstaedt recapitulates the event as:

"…thousands of people milling around, in side streets and everywhere. Everybody was kissing each other . . . And there was also a Navy man running, grabbing anybody, you know, kissing, I ran ahead of him because I had Leica cameras around my neck, focused from 10 feet to infinity. You only had to shoot . . . I didn't even know what was going on, until he grabbed something in white. And I stood there, and they kissed. And I snapped five times."

Men of service had quickly realized they had an excuse to kiss anyone they wanted, and gave women a reason to let them. Needless to say, the individuals in the image were complete strangers. This victory over one of the most powerful and aggressive military powers in the world was an outstanding achievement. This brought about a mass outpouring of passion, national pride, and unity. And there was a sudden upheaval of industrial growth and economic strength- a dramatic advancement from depression to prosperity.

This image depicts a strong and patriotic America. This day was a dramatic turn from the cataclysmic nature of war- although bittersweet notwithstanding. Thousands of POW’s were displaced or executed. This kiss was not one of lust or affection, but rather anguish and security. And that feeling resonated throughout the country.

To this very day, we celebrate the victory of war. But it is an awful price to pay for peace and accord.

* “Kissing the War Goodbye” is the title of a similar shot of the kissing sailor and nurse, taken by a different photographer. It is not to be confused with Eisenstaedt’s work, "V-J Day in Times Square". I felt this title better reflected the ideas in my post.

Man, I hate picture day

If you're like me, then the first thing you did after reading the prompt was to google "photos that changed the world". Conveniently, a couple of websites already made their own lists, which killed any chances of finding an original picture, me being the lazy person that I am. So by talking about my lack of originality, I'm hoping that it will make up for my lack of originality?

If I asked someone who he thought was the smartest person in history, chances are, he will say "Einstein". The theory of relativity, quantum theory and many more, the father of modern physics certainly lives up to his name. For many, he was the pinnacle of human evolution, the paragon of righteousness, the speaker of truth, an omniscient, flawless being. His name has become synonymous with genius for crying out loud. The public has this weird misconception that smart people are dry and devoid of emotion. They know Einstein for his numerous accomplishments and great intellect, and conclude that someone as smart as Einstein surely must be a stern person all the time. But he was not. Like every other person on this planet, he too was a person, and not too many people understood that.

During his 72nd birthday, the poor scientist got caught by a storm of reporters. The hopes of just enjoying a quiet birthday shattered, he answered the endless questions imposed by the press before being asked to pose for a picture. Having done this countless times before, Einstein decided to be a bit more creative this time. He gave a pose that will be remembered for ages to come, the classic "tongue rolling". This picture displayed a childish side of Einstein, which matches up with his close friends describing him as a "child at heart". The goofy face of Einstein clashed with the public's presumption that really smart people, and in turn Einstein, are humorless and serious all the time. Einstein enjoyed a good joke as much as the next guy, and isn't afraid to show that side of him. For the first time, it hit people that Einstein is human, and like any human, he has a personality.

A HUGE Accomplishment

This photograph was taken on July 20, 1969. This was the historic day that Neil Armstrong and "Buzz" Aldrin (seen in picture above) walked on the moon on the aircraft Apollo 11. This was the first time ever that man walked on the moon. This photograph was taken by Neil Armstrong of "Buzz" Aldrin. The picture is really taken on the moon and it is so historic because walking on the moon was such a feat and so amazing. Nobody had done it and it just proved America's development through the years and through the times of trouble, we can still have amazing accomplishments.

Before this photograph was taken, no man had taken a step on the moon before, it had been tried though. The people in this specific photograph and the two me who landed on the moon probably feel so accomplished and should feel proud of themselves, but more so, proud of the United States of America. Everybody worked together to get these men up on the moon with loads of work back on earth that had to be done in order for the astronauts to be in that photograph. And if you've ever seen the movie Apollo 13, you know how much work goes into getting those astronauts into space and through outer space to the moon. Outside of the photograph is much excitement and an emotional state for Americans because this marked a landmark for their country and for them as a whole. It proved that we have developed so far from where we had been just a few years before this. Overall, this photograph just really represents accomplishment and pride for America as a whole. This day certainly changed America in a positive way no doubt.

The Times They are a-Changing

This photo was taken in February 1936, during the Great Depression. The central woman in this photo is Florence Owens Thompson, whose face unknowingly changed the nation during the economic crisis. This photo captured a proud America in its deepest troubles. Thompson was a widower who had seven children to raise. However, her job was not profitable, forcing her large family to live on birds killed by the children and vegetables taken from a field close by. Her situation was not unlike many other workers who also labored at the farm she was at. Soon after, the photo was spread throughout the country, which then prompted the government to distribute food and supplies.

While the photo was taken decades ago, it is still known was the "Migrant Mother" photo. Sure, it pictured America in one of its worst times. However, it also tells us how we should be aware of what we do, and not take things for granted. While we have been given the lecture of how there are people elsewhere in the world that live in poverty and starve, those same people also exist in our country. The mother here is taking care of seven children, and has been through rough times. However, she still endured the troubles in her life, with the loss of her husband, and the poverty everyone was living in. We shouldn't be complaining about anything; instead, we should tough it out. The expression of the woman not only shows poverty and loss, but also perseverance and hope. Such an attitude is lost in our society today. We should never forget that our ancestors had to work in order to build our civilization into what it is today. While financial problems may occur, they can be fixed. The loss of determination cannot be.

*This photo also shows us how strong our mothers can be. Florence Owens Thompson ended up getting no royalties from the photo, and lived in a mobile home for the majority of her life. She died and was buried next to her husband, immortalized by the photo.

Perspective

To answer the question of whether there is good or evil in the world, you must take into account who is asking. Or really, who is answering. In the end, it all matters because there is nothing to the question but perspective. A priest may say anyone who drinks or has sex before being married is evil, but ask a college student and someone who doesn't do those things isn't necessarily evil, but certainly is absent from the norm. A more moderate person may say those things are neither good, nor evil, but perhaps have the ability to be either under varying circumstances. I'm certain we can agree Hitler or Stalin or Kim-Jong-Il are evil people, but to themselves and surely a portion of their constituents they seemed as though they were doing the right thing. The argument can then be made that those constituents are evil, but how do you think you seem/seemed to them? It boils back down to perspective.

Assignment 4: A World in Pictures

On Monday morning, you could have stood on the top level and witnessed the beautiful eccentrics of New York city. On Tuesday morning, you would have run in horror.The two tallest buildings in New York City fell on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 and because of the consequential pain and destruction, America would forever be changed.

On September 11, the majority of the nation watched in horrific silence as they saw the pictures of chaos.

This picture from New York Magazine marked the start of a new era for America.

Pictures show us what we cannot know first-hand. They can make a statement or argument. They can educate on the reality of the world. They can change how a person thinks about an idea or event. This week, find a picture that shocked, comforted, or changed a nation or community of people (falling of Berlin wall, JFK assassination, etc.)

Include your picture, a description of it, and what it provokes you to think about in your blog.

If you're facing writer's block, consider the following:
What happened just before the photograph was taken?
How do the people in the photograph feel?
What is happening outside the frame of this photograph?

Due Sunday, September 18 at 11:59 pm!

Good? Evil? I Scoff at your silly classifications

Humanity is a really divided thing. Sometimes we can do great in the name of good, like risk our lives needlessly for others, but in other times we can be savage beasts that only seek to better ourselves. What is humanity then, one or the other? I say we are none. The human condition is one of situations. We as a species are greedy, but not necessarily as individuals. The Selfish Gene theory tells us about this, where we seek to save our genes, not necessarily our consciousness. That is the biological aspect. I.E. you sacrifice yourself to save 2 brothers, or 4 first cousins, etc. The creation of a society has altered that. We can do things for the purpose of others in order to better our image that might hurt us immediately but further ourselves in the mind of others. It's all ambiguous. You might bring up certain cases like selfless firefighters who die in the line of duty, but those are exceptions. As a whole, i believe we just do what we do to further our desires, because there's not evil, there's not good, there's greed.

"Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21

Evil (adj.)- morally wrong or bad; immoral or wicked. Good (adj.)- morally good; virtuous; righteous; pious. How can we define what is good and what is evil? Are there universal indicators behind, within, or consequent upon an action by which one can determine whether it was a good or an evil act? It really depends on who you ask. First off, I do not necessarily believe that man by itself can conclusively define good and evil. I believe an example of complete goodness is my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, thus leaving me with the concurrent statement that Satan is the prime example absolute evil. Don't get me wrong; the prevalent generalities of good and evil do exist. Someone may see something as good while someone else may see it as evil.

The perfect and most appropriate example of this is the attacks of September 11th. Al Qaeda had the idea that what they were doing was for the good of their people in the name of Allah. We, along with almost everyone else, obviously see this as an act of evil while they see this as an act of good. I'm not saying that just because people have different views on what is good and what is evil doesn't mean that there is no good and evil. The fact that there is going to be opinions on what is good and what is evil, and the fact that these opinions are differing, one must find a standard. You have man-made law, which is basically legal and illegal but not necessarily good or evil. You also have moral law, which depends upon a higher authority. Even among some people, moral authority an differ between what is good and evil. In some cases, one authority condones something another would not.

I believe that the Bible thoroughly exemplifies good and evil. It is clearly shown in the very beginning with Adam and Eve. Man's very nature is that of a sinner which is preyed upon by Satan. Humans have an innate sense of what is right and what is wrong; that sense being developed more in some than in others. Outside of that, we only have man's determination of what is right and wrong, also known as legal and illegal which is thrown up for interpretation. That can vary greatly among societies, cultures, and even families.

In conclusion, there is no earthly example of absolute good and evil, but the generalities exist. If one has to depend on definitions of good and evil provided by man, it is difficult to conclude what is definite good and evil. To so conclude, one must have some higher authority. If one believes in said higher authority, then absolute good and absolute evil exists.

Good and Evil.....sorta

This prompt is truly a stumper. It's taken me a while to come up with an answer, so here goes!

Truly, I do not think that there is an Earthly pure good and an Earthly pure bad. While most of us believe that everyone is either completely good or completely bad, it is tough for us to be just one thing.

However, the extremes of good and evil are what we like to use to set each other apart from one another; and to make a good movie plot. If the Queen in Snow White was a "moderate", shall we say, there wouldn't be much of a story, would there be? By that same token, if Superman was just an okay person and Lex Luthor was just a mildly bad person, there would have never been a single movie made, I guarantee it. There has to be extremes.

But, in reality, are there these set-in-stone extremes? Without getting on my religious spiel and explaining the contrary, there is not a completely good and completely evil on this Earth. Are some people really good? Sure. Are some people really bad? Of course. But does each one exhibit behaviors of the other? Absolutely.

No human is perfect. We all have our good sides and our bad sides; some just have more lopsided proportions. And yes, the Dark Side is fun to think about and watch on a movie, but I think it is silly to believe that everyone is just one kind of person.

Schrödinger's Cat: Both Evil and Good Until Observed

*For those of you who are not familiar with Schrödinger's Cat, click here.

Unless characters from stories that are poorly written and clichéd count, there is no absolute for good or evil. Every action can be interpreted as either good or evil. From a technical standpoint, someone could measure the responses of observers to an action executed by a nondescript subject, and maybe then could we measure the “evilness” or “goodness” of an action. However, with an infinite amount of variables, such as the subject’s gender, race, or religion, and the differences in reactions of observers and their own personal descriptors, there will never, ever be an action that elicits the exact same response from every single human being that there ever is, was, or will be. To put it simply, there is never any pure evil or good; there are only shades of grey that might appear to be white or appear to be black – it all depends on the observer.

For conflicts between two (or more) people/groups of people, it’s never an example of “Good vs. Evil”. It’s only a conflict of people who believe in a different type of good/evil. For instance, the war on terror is a fairly accurate example of this. While most people disagree with the ideals of the militant groups in the Middle East, there still are those who are in those said groups who truly believe that their actions are good, and that the west is evil. Even if you exclude these people, there are still many who see the terrorists as simply misguided and not evil.

In a society without emotion there might truly be no good or evil, but at what cost? Emotion is what makes humans people. Without emotion, we’re simply drones that do whatever lets us conform; we see it in George Orwell’s 1984 – people with suppressed emotions are not productive, and it is counter-intuitive to the development of the human race.

Eliminating all that is evil is possible, if you’re willing to commit mass murder and possibly genocide. Since all good and evil is relative to the observer, and there’s nothing that every person believes is evil, there’s no way to remove all evil without ruining someone’s day. A notable individual that tried to exterminate all evil was Hitler. He is, most likely, the most evil person by today’s standards; however, in the 30s and 40s, there were many Nazis and Nazi sympathizers who saw Hitler as a role model of sorts.

The Oxford Dictionary defines “Evil” as “Profoundly immoral and malevolent”, and “Good” as “That which is morally right; righteousness.”

Seems pretty clear-cut and straightforward, right?

If you answered yes, you probably haven’t read anything I’ve written up to this point.

To summarize:

- There is no absolute good or evil; only what is perceived to be good or evil.

- The only way to have no good nor evil is to have a society without emotion; however, the one who made this society have no emotion can be considered to be evil.

- You can’t get rid of all evil in the world without being considered evil by anyone, anywhere, and in any time.

Good v. Evil

Without going into some religious debate, I am going to say that there isn’t pure evil or pure good on Earth. No one can refute that newborn babies are probably the closest thing that this world has to pure good because they have not been influenced by or experienced the ways of the world. But childhood is where the war between good and evil begins. The war between good and evil do not have clear cut battle lines, but they certainly do exist in the world. The negative influences that a person experiences can make them think in evil ways, while positive influences can provide more good in the world. This makes me think directly of Harry Potter because even though he received negative influences through his connection to Voldemort, the positive influences of his friends and his mother’s love allowed him to make it through difficult times. The most vivid example of this would be from the third book/movie when he is dealing with the dementors and he must cast the patronus charm. To prevent evil from taking over, he must only think of the positive influences, which is the example of this constant battle between the two forces in his life. I think good and evil will always exist, unless we can get create a utopia, which is probably impossible. As far as a definition of good and evil, I can’t give you one. I honestly don’t even know how to begin to describe them. Simply, I would say bad and nice, which are two more words that I can’t really define. They are just titles that are given to people, things, or situations that others like or do not like. Depending on the viewpoint, motivations, and goals of a certain person, the roles of good or evil could even change. The debate between good and evil will probably last forever.

Insert Witty Title Here

Good and bad are the simplest essences of morality. To call something good in the way of simple acts is fairly straight foward and usually doesn't cause too much controversy. Taking food to the elderly is good. Filling that food with arsenic is bad. Helping a cat out of a tree is good. Shooting it out of a tree is definitely bad. These are all based on the morality society creates and has passed down, like that helping the elderly is a good thing to do, but killing people is wrong, or that being kind to domestic animals is good but abusing domestic animals is wrong.

However, when a "good" moral thing and "bad" moral thing conflict, as in stealing from the rich and giving to the poor or killing a serial murderer, this creates a gray area. When this happens, its all about perspective. Most of perspective is more bias than actual logic, since the human desire for being on top outweighs what we are told to believe by others. If I was rich and someone was giving all my money to poor people, I'd say vigilante behind it should be jailed or otherwise persecuted. However, if me and my 8 kids were scraping rats off the floor of our dirt hut for food and the same vigilante dropped off a sack of stolen bread, he'd be a hero.

Another point is simply what we grow up and live being told. If you were raised by a young, rich heiress with lots of money and no sense of responsibility, you'd probably spend more money on instant gratification than someone raised by their grandfather, who grew up during the Great Depression and saves more than he spends. This goes for everything from political stance to morality itself. The human mind is to complex to have one template to think by, especially in America's free thinking environment. Odds are, if you're parents tell you capital punishment is moral in the case of murderers (as in my home) you'll grow up to argue that against people raised otherwise (as I do).

To sum up what has been said, while society is a mold to shape the idea of "what is right", "what is proper", and "what is moral", the ideas of "good" and "evil" are a web of perspectives and what-he-said's so complex no man could discern what the superior belief is.

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly and the Beautiful

As to say that there is "absolute good" or "absolute evil" in this world is unreasonable to say. Anything that anyone does can be seen as good or bad according to someone else. Its all based on people's moral beliefs, perspective, and things they have been told growing up. If you as a child were told that stealing was a good thing and that it was the only way your family could survive, you will steal. And if you are told that from a very young age then you may always (or at least for a long time) believe that stealing is truly a harmless thing to do. In essence even "good" for your family. However, the person you steal from may see it as a very bad and morally incorrect thing to do.

According to me, there are BAD people in this world. People who kill, steal, lie, and cheat ,but maybe to themselves they think they are doing the right thing. And maybe the people they surround themselves with agree with them. So to those people I and others who have the same moral beliefs that I do are seen as bad people, because we believe different things, opposite things for that matter. Or maybe they just see what they are doing as responsible or just because of things they believe have been unfairly done to them.

I don't think it is possible to us as humans to live in a world free of this constant debate between good and evil. Politics revolve around what people to believe is good and evil for the country. School and church teach us what we should deem as evil or good. These institutions will not ever change their minds so therefore keeping this constant battle between good and evil. Life is all about the grey area. Without it people wouldn't have the will power or independence to do anything for themselves. Everything would always be right and no decisions would be made for us. And I do not think that, that is the way to live.

Hypothetical Greyscale Scenarios

Saying that there is “absolute good” and “absolute evil” engaged in a constantly ongoing war, is, to me, quite silly. Behind nearly every action, there can be some way or another that the action can be deemed “just” or “reasonable”. For instance, cannibalism. In most cases, cannibalism is frowned deeply upon in society. But here’s a hypothetical scenario: what if there are several people who have been in a lifeboat for over a week, with nothing to eat, and no land in sight. One of them is about to die. In this scenario, would it be wholly “evil” for the surviving passengers to eat the dead one, after he or she had passed on? Certainly not! Furthermore, there are many actions which can neither be classified as good or evil. Let’s say a person is just sitting in a chair and eating an apple. Where would this fall, on a moral scale, between good and evil? If anything, it falls completely outside the scale, as eating an apple really isn’t anything that benefits anyone much, but it also doesn’t hurt anyone(because, hey, apples are good for your health). But really, a big part of the good/evil dichotomy is in how we, as an audience, choose to view certain things. Let’s keep going with these hypothetical scenarios. A boy is playing with a toy car, when another boy runs up to him and steals it from him. With just this information, we see that the first boy is innocent, and therefore good, but the second boy is very rude, and therefore bad. But what if we found out that the car initially was given to the second boy for his birthday, but the first boy stole it from him? Two rights don’t make a wrong, of course, but seeing this new information is more likely to skew our view into seeing that the second boy is really the good one, and the first boy is the bad one.

Mama Theresa vs. Druggie

You're in a room with an eighty year old Mother Theresa-like lady and a young man in his twenties whose been in jail for dealing drugs. Both are on their death beds and you have a pill that can save one of them. Who do you give it to?

In this situation, I would save the rebellious young man due to the potential he has in his remaining years. Does this make me a bad person? What if he resumes dealing drugs and ruining peoples' lives as soon as he's saved? Should I save the Mother Theresa lady instead due to the good she can still do for thousands of people? This is a classic, hypothetical moral dilemma in which there is no right answer; instead there's a large grey area in which either answer is understood and accepted. Now let's go one step further and assume that I was the former drug dealer, does that make me evil? Or was it just my actions that were evil?

Personally, I don't believe that people or actions have the capability to be simply labelled as good or evil. What if me, as a former drug dealer, was dealing out of the necessity in order to put food on my table or survive in a tough neighborhood? Grey areas exist everywhere if one just takes the time to dig deeper than the surface of just a "good" or "evil" label. Therefore, it's impossible to simply judge something without knowing all of context, and even once all of the context is known it is almost always too complex and conflicted to judge as "good" or "evil." In conclusion, because good and evil don't exist it's impossible for there to be a war between them, so instead there's just a large grey area that runs from socially and morally acceptable to unacceptable.

Theres a gray between black and white

If black is evil and white is good the gray in between is where most of us are. Nobody is pure evil and nobody is only good either. People tend to jump back and forth between the two; creating the gray area that is present. Since today is the anniversary of 9/11 its fitting that this good vs evil can be applied to that situation. After 9/11 people like to think of Osama Bin Laden as pure evil; that he has absolutely no good in him, and there are plenty of reasons why this can be said. However we dont know what he did during the majority of his life. We like to think that he was pure evil and sure most of his life he spent doing things that would harm other people, but even he probable crossed over into the gay area at some point. I believe it was gus who posted a picture of two colors coming together to represent good and evil and I think this was a perfect representation of the relationship between the two. Theres good, theres evil, and theres the big area where the two colors mix or in this case the gray area, and this is where most people find themselves; somewhere in between

Good vs Evil

Today is the tenth anniversary of the september eleventh attacks in two thousand and one, thus sparking my response to this question. There is always a good and a bad, a yin and a yang, or a good and an evil. I will take drastic measures in explaining this but good and evil are drastic terms as is nine eleven. On nine eleven ten years ago our country was malevolently attacked by the terrorist group Al Qaeda. The United states was absolutely devastated by these attacks and felt cheated. These attacks sparked aggresive intentions on many Americans who wanted to immediately go to war against Al Qaeda. Analyzing this situation there was a good and an evil. The good was America and the evil was Al Qaeda . What determines these titles for me is the contrasting points in view of this situation from both parties. The Al Qaeda thought they were doing something heroic for there religion, where as the Americans clearly couldn't invision any thing eviler happening to them. For these reasons there are two parties in this story good and evil. Most americans consider themselves part of the good while Al Qaeda considers themselves the good.

Good and Evil

Let me begin by saying that I believe that every person is born with the possibility of being good. I am also of the belief that good and evil are vague terms. However, to deny the existence of good and evil is, in my mind, ignorant.

On December 13, 1937, the Japanese captured the Chinese capital of Nanking. In the following six weeks, Japanese soldiers proceeded to rape some twenty thousand women and murder upwards of a hundred thousand civilians. Some of the women who were raped had their bodies mutilated and defiled, both postmortem and not. Chinese prisoners of war were executed unjustly and publicly. In one case, a small boy had his head beat in with the butt of rifle because he refused to take his hat off when commanded to. These were your everyday men, they probably had families similar to the ones they butchered at home. I would assume that in their life, many of them were no great force of evil. However, in that six week period, they were a blemish upon the earth they walked upon. They were monsters. They were evil.

On the other hand, humans are just as capable being good. An example fresh in all our mind would be the men and women who risked, and some cases gave, their lives during 9-11. The selfless actions of those police, firefighters, and other emergency responders to attempt save those who had been trapped in the Towers. The bravery shown by the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93, attempting to overcome the hijackers. The people who carried out those actions were not saints. I assume some of them were probably just jerks. But when it mattered most they were capable of performing deeds beyond what was asked of them. In that moment they were good.

I won't link any of the atrocities of Nanking or the acts of heroism during 9/11 because it doesnt feel right, but they are what I believe to good examples of the far end of human nature.

Good vs. Evil

Everyday someone does something bad and someone has to try and stop them, its as basic as that. However, no one can be perfect and no one is ever pure evil, but generally you can determine and place everyone is either the good or evil side.

Good vs. Evil happens everyday, the news talks about murder, terrorism, and drug dealers everyday. There are military appreciation day and other days for police officers and firefighters once a year, to commend the people who fight and are the “good” side. There are some obvious good and evil people, like any American would say that Osama Bin Laden and terrorists are definitely evil, and that all people in the military in the Middle East are good.

However, there is a grey area where people who are good do the wrong thing, but either way they end up being overall good or evil; for example, the DEA found US military soldiers smuggling hundreds of pounds of marijuana across the boarder, now those people started good, but now have become evil.

Overall, there is no absolute good and evil, but when you look at people and their actions they can be placed into being a generally good or evil person.

The Dark Side does have the coolest costumes....

There is no absolute good or absolute evil. Good and evil are relative terms and depend on the situation. What is good for one person may be evil for another. Take, for example, Anakin Skywalker. In the Revenge of the Sith he turns to the dark side. He commits multiple crimes, including the murder of several jedi children. We say, “That is evil.” But look at the situation from Anakin’s perspective. He initially turns to the dark side to obtain powers that will help save his wife, Padme. So, from his perspective, his actions are good. This is why there is no absolute good or evil. The terms depend completely on the situation. Good and evil are ideas that also depend on morals. Some people grow up in areas where murder is a necessity. Of course, we condemn those people because we grew up in a society that abhors murder. It all depends on perspective and morals.

Can you tell me where red becomes blue?

Seriously, I implore you; put your finger on the point in the picture where the red becomes blue. If you're having trouble with that, I would advise you to concede that there is no specific point where anyone can say one way or another, "the box is now blue." Similarly, you should concede that every decision that anyone ever made has had both positive and negative repercussions at some level. Asking what is good and what is evil is an exercise in futility. The real question comes when you ask yourself why you think one thing is good and why you think another is evil.

Morality has classically raised the most questions in the field of philosophy, and for good reason. It is nigh on impossible to give rational backing to any universal moral. Good and evil represent cultural perception, not universal reality. It helps to visualize morality as a democracy where every action counts as a vote. Why else should Indians consider a cow sacred while Americans consider it tasty? It isn't because either perception is correct, only because both perceptions are culturally agreed upon.

According to a recent CNN report, many Afghans don't even realize what happened on 9/11. To these ordinary people, the whole event is just water under the bridge -- even as war ravages their country. Americans, on the other hand, remember the event with tears and unity. As an American, would you say that these misinformed Afghans deserve the title of "evil?" I certainly wouldn't say that anymore than I would say a Buddhist deserves to go to hell.

It has been said by many that there can be no perfection in the universe. Real things can't be purely good or purely evil. The world isn't wrought in binary decisions, it's a gray scale of infinite complexity that cannot be won by any single force.

Same answer, just regurgitated differently

paradox: evil IS good

as i was reading through all of the blog posts of my classmates i cant help but notice they are almost the exact stance. everyone believes there is no truly bad or truly good, we are a mixture of both. and in my opinion a healthy mixture. by doing something out-of-line every once in a while it allows us to appreciate the good things that we do in our life. it is human nature to be both evil and good, sometimes at the same time. good and evil also depends on what side of the battle you are looking at. in wars who is really the bad guy? is it people we are fighting against? to us it is, but im sure that to the people on the other side of the conflict they feel just as justified in their feeling that the united states is evil. it all depends on what side you are looking at the conflict from.

the basic idea of good versus evil has been around as long as man has. since the torah(first testament for you christians out there) there has been good and evil. because it is part of all human beings it has shown up everywhere in our culture. in our nooks, movies, news, internet sights, etc... there is not a definite good versus evil. everyone in their life has been evil at some point, but they have also been good too. the evil allows us to appreciate the good. therefore without evil there is no good at all.

It's not all Black & White

I would not disagree with the thought that there are forms of pure evil in the world today, but I do believe that no one is born purely evil. Society, and the temptations that it brings, can easily corrupt anyone. We have the choice, however, not to succumb to them. Those who are strong enough to remain good rise above the negative aspects of society. On the other hand, there are those who fall to it. This by no means qualifies them as evil. There are many who under the pressures of society make wrong decisions at times. For example there is the Bernie Madoff million dollar ponzi scheme. He was raised in poverty and worked his way to the top. Due to the high pressures brought upon by society, he felt the need to stay on top and dominate the investing world, even if that meant he must cheat to do so. Although he conned many people out of millions of dollars, it doesn't mean that he is a bad human being, nor was he born evil. He grew up wanting just wanting to make a successful life to himself, but fell to the pressures of those around him. All in all, there is definitely a grey area between those who are ultimately good and evil, and everyone is born good. Its just the choices the make that can be evil.

"Do no be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" Romans 12:21

Evil (adj.)- morally wrong or bad; immoral or wicked. Good (adj.)- morally good; virtuous; righteous; pious. How can we define what is good and what is evil? Are there universal indicators behind, within, or consequent upon an action by which one can determine whether it was a good or an evil act? It really depends on who you ask. First off, I do not necessarily believe that man by itself can conclusively define good and evil. I believe an example of complete goodness is my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, thus leaving me with the concurrent statement that Satan is the prime example absolute evil. Don't get me wrong; the prevalent generalities of good and evil do exist. Someone may see something as good while someone else may see it as evil.

The perfect and most appropriate example of this is the attacks of September 11th. Al Qaeda had the idea that what they were doing was for the good of their people in the name of Allah. We, along with almost everyone else, obviously see this as an act of evil while they see this as an act of good. I'm not saying that just because people have different views on what is good and what is evil doesn't mean that there is no good and evil. The fact that there is going to be opinions on what is good and what is evil, and the fact that these opinions are differing, one must find a standard. You have man-made law, which is basically legal and illegal but not necessarily good or evil. You also have moral law, which depends upon a higher authority. Even among some people, moral authority an differ between what is good and evil. In some cases, one authority condones something another would not.

I believe that the Bible thoroughly exemplifies good and evil. It is clearly shown in the very beginning with Adam and Eve. Man's very nature is that of a sinner which is preyed upon by Satan. Humans have an innate sense of what is right and what is wrong; that sense being developed more in some than in others. Outside of that, we only have man's determination of what is right and wrong, also known as legal and illegal which is thrown up for interpretation. That can vary greatly among societies, cultures, and even families.

In conclusion, there is no earthly example of absolute good and evil, but the generalities exist. If one has to depend on definitions of good and evil provided by man, it is difficult to conclude what is definite good and evil. To so conclude, one must have some higher authority. If one believes in said higher authority, then absolute good and absolute evil exists.

Good n Evil

When I read the stories about how something really bad happens like a murder or identity theft I always think to myself why is there all these stories about the bad things that happen in society and not the good ones. The same thing is applicable for doing good things. The only thing that appears in the news is when something horrible has happened or something touching or extremely nice has been done. No one cares about the story where someone lost twenty dollars and some kindhearted person was nice enough to pick it up and return it to the guy who had just dropped it.
My sister recently was at her college campus when she actually was careless enough to lose her id and one of her credit cards (I don't know how she did I didn't ask further) and luckily she was able to retrieve it from the person that actually found her and gave it back. It's things like this that happen on a daily basis. We like to cover the extremes of good and evil and attract people's attention with crazy stories and wow people with the things that people do. In the end good and evil doesn't exist to me. It's all about belief in what you do and how it's justified. In the war in the middle east who is the good guy and who is the bad guys. We like to say America is always justified in what we are doing, protecting liberties of people and bringing terrorists to justice. But what is it like for the Islamic people? It is easy to see clearly from one side whether something is good or bad but the true answer to good and bad things is to look at it from both sides and see how it affects both sides.

Of course there is no clear definitive good vs evil!

No way, there is absolutely no such thing as absolute good and evil. The only completely good person is Jesus Christ and the only purely evil person is the devil. It is not clear cut one bit! "Good people" are people who mainly do good things, but every once in a while, they will will do something bad. Even if it is the slightest bad thing. That is the same with "evil people," they do good things every once in a while. People are viewed as good or bad, based on the things that they do most often, but they can be good at times. For example, Osama Bin Laden was a terrorist who, ten years ago today, ruthlessly took the lives of many Americans. He is a bad person! However, he probably did at least one good thing, and it was not to any Amercans, but he probably did something out of good will for somebody in his life. I just cannot think that someone could go throughout life and not do a single bit of good. The same the other way around, how could somebody go through an entire life with out doing a single bad thing, even the slightest bad thing. Yes, good and evil have to exist, and this is to keep people in check, because nobody wants to be known as evil, so they will be somewhat good because these terms do exist. If religion grows and people start to realize the negatives of being bad, then good may rule out evil, but there is no clear cut between the two, there is gray area.

*God Bless America*

good vs. evil

It's the age-old battle: good vs. evil. This classic theme has worked itself into almost every nook and cranny of today's media. We see it in literature from many years ago and we see it in movies released just last week. It's fascinating really; who I am to deem something or someone truly evil or truly good? When I think of "good" I tend to think of Jesus. He offered a perfect sacrifice for us, and he is what most Christians look up to as the epitome of exemplary behavior. In my eyes, having a firm faith in his love and trying our best to live as he did is definitely considered "good." A quote from the Bible says, "Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it." If you always try to do good, goodness will follow.

I believe that the good and the evil we see in our society is rooted in the choices that these specific people make and what influences them and their lives. I feel that human nature is innately good; one cannot just be "born" evil. One may choose to do evil acts which can then corrupt their way of thinking or who they are and what they become. How one is raised, their environment, their culture, or even their beliefs can make them stray from the path of good though, and ultimately mold the mind into something that no longer adheres to what is morally right. These evil acts they commit are what define them as having evil dispositions.

Today specifically, the 10th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, is a significant example of good vs. evil. Terrorism is evil--no one would dare argue with that. The intentions of the terrorists, the killing of thousands of innocent people, were pure evil. I simply do not believe though that those people were born evil people. Everyone possesses both good and evil inside, but it is what we choose to act on that matters. Their warped beliefs and culture are what incited them to act on the evil deep inside of them. There is much more good in our world than evil, and we have to fight to keep it that way. Our society is full of people making the right decision everyday, but it is also full of people making the wrong one. If we continue to do good, hopefully we will be good people.

Nobody is truly evil... Except maybe the members of Burzum.

Is there a clear separation of good and evil in society? I, for one, think both yes, and no. Just think about it, have you ever met a single flawlessly benevolent person? On the flip side, have you ever met a person that is purely malevolent? If you say you have met either, you are probably lying. This being said, a spectrum of good and evil is the most probable of theories.

While good and evil actions are considered subjective, there is still a decently clear division of harmful and beneficial actions toward people. This, in a way, makes the thought of “good” and “evil” as being theoretical at best and not actually achievable for anyone to be completely one or the other. That is unless they are Jesus or Lord Voldemort.

Back to the grey area. Since nobody is perfect, often good people do bad things; vice versa. Humans are humans, so sometimes we act selfishly and sometimes we act selflessly. Some are just more prone to do good or bad more often. In this way, neither good nor evil can eliminate the other as long as humanity exists. This is just how we are wired; however, it is whether or not that we try to be a better person that counts.