Dark Universe Version 2.0

When you approach something you think to be EVIL, you must always begin with a stubborn assumption that the thing you are looking at is NOT EVIL. This means you must try to find proof from various trustworthy sources that there is a reason to the action you considered to be EVIL. I assure you, almost all things in this world are not purely EVIL, as they have an explanation. For example, hearing all the talk about the EVILness of the 9/11 attacks, I decided to approach this my way. Here is what I found:

Gulf War and start of U.S. enmity

Following the Soviet Union’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden returned to Saudi Arabia. The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 had put the Saudi Arabian ruling House of Saud at risk both from internal dissent and the perceived possibility of further Iraqi expansionism. In the face of seemingly massive Iraqi military presence, Saudi Arabia’s own forces were well armed but outnumbered. Bin Laden offered the services of his Mujahideen to King Fahd to protect Saudi Arabia from the Iraqi army.

After some deliberation the Saudi Monarch refused bin Laden’s offer and instead opted to allow United States and allied forces to deploy on his territory. Bin Laden considered this a treacherous deed. He believed that the presence of foreign troops in the “land of the two mosques” (Mecca and Medina) profaned sacred soil. After speaking publicly against the Saudi government for harboring American troops he was quickly forced into exile to Sudan and his Saudi citizenship was revoked.

Shortly afterwards, the movement which came to be known as al-Qaeda was formed.

Now, whether you think this reason is adequate is your choice, but you must also remember that these religious fanatics actually helped us in the Cold War.

In addition, I addressed this issue only because it was mentioned so much. It is true that there is still some reason to be shocked and angered by Al Quaeda for their terrorist attacks on us. However, there are other countries and people we call EVIL without any real knowledge. Nations like Iran are a different story. In my opinion, Iran is totally justified in wanting to destroy us.

And then that leaves us with North Korea. You can decide this one for yourself.

Let me mention, however, as it doesn’t say so in the wikipedia article, that the history of Korea is basically one of being screwed over by various Asian powers. So yeah, I bet they’re angry. In the end, even the U.S. and the Soviet Union “maltreated” them, and they split into two nations. So I can’t help but feel sorry for Korea.

I tell you, calling something EVIL is very easy, but you have to remember that there are almost no cases where anything is purely GOOD or EVIL. There is almost always a reason behind human actions, and it’s only when you’ve succeeded in understanding how people you once thought were EVIL actually felt at the time, that you can truly begin to understand the world as a whole. And once you experience EVIL in its essence, you can truly stop hating it and start contemplating it.

Sam says, in article “Evil”: “Everyone agrees that killing someone is evil, yet some religions believe killing everyone else is fine.”

I know, many other people have said this, in various ways. Sorry for picking on you, Sam.

Anyways, I only half agree with this statement…ah, forget it. I don’t agree at all. I’m sure most people are accusing Islamisism when saying something like this. If Islamicisim is evil, then what about our oh-so-pure Christianity?

Here’s another one, if you’re so stubborn that one won’t satisfy you.

And in case you’re saying it was different, and that the crusades were caused by misinterpretations by people, here’s Islam for you.

Christianity, Islam, Buddhism…all major world religions not only do not accept of violence, but actively voice against it. It’s when people start ignoring the clause stating that violence is evil that people start dying in the name of religion. The religions themselves are not evil…at least, not in my opinion. I think, however, that if someone is to call one of the world religions evil, he or she must call all of them evil. They have different beliefs, but their moral base, which is opposed to murder in all circumstances, is the same throughout. Just because some Islamic fanatics have trouble accepting that even people they believe to be evil should not be killed, does not mean the religion itself is at fault. This is something we must all realize before we start accusing religion of anything.

EVIL to me was far too powerful a word whose implications may not fit many of the definitions people give it. I decided to give the word my own solid definition, to limit its vague usage. I stripped it to the core and defined it as meaning one thing: CHAOS.

I’m essentially trying to stop people from feeling that EVIL is just a stronger word for BAD. That just makes the word yet another heavy insult that can be used in any way the user likes. My definition, however, separates those two words. EVIL can be either good or bad, but if it is EVIL, it is 100% evil. The example presented in the classroom of the person who murdered for no reason demonstrates my kind of EVIL, because someone suddenly deciding to kill for no real reason is a demonstration of chaos, which lacks explanation or predictability. Of course, someone who is not willing to find out or accept the motives of a killer may also define the murder as being EVIL.

The opposite of EVIL is GOOD. However, because the wordgood does have many clear definitions of varying intensity, along with the vague one that is only known to be the positive counterpart of EVIL. Therefore, I will capitalize GOOD whenever it means the opposite of EVIL (yes, EVIL is capitalized too, but that’s because it amplifies the evilness of the word; if you like, you can capitalize it too). I define GOOD as meaning ORDER or CONTROL. This seems fitting, as one of the accomplishments of the early Catholic Church was keeping society intact and controlled, with an effective combination of rewarding the good with heaven and punishing the bad with hell. The usage of both reward and fear motivated most common people, and kept them quiet and obedient for centuries under the feudal system.

More evidence for these definitions come from the systems that God and Satan present to mankind. God lays out clear, solid rules that he requires of people to enter heaven, while Satan tempts people with freedom and happiness. There could not be two systems that better represent chaos and order. Ironically, heaven is pictured as relative freedom and happiness while hell is pictured as eternal slavery and labor, but that is a different concept I may write about soon. For now, I have given official defintions to the words GOOD and EVIL that will remain unchanged within this website unless I think up something better.