This is an amazing TED Talk, covering a subject I’ve been meaning to write about for some time (outside of Facebook rants, that is). A glimpse:
“Nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer; nothing more difficult than understanding him,” Dostoyevksy tells us. Understanding is not excusing. Psychology is not excuse-iology.
When we see people doing evil, we either blame the person or society. The latter is the easy way out. We have free will — or at least we like to insist so — and yet there will always be otherwise “good” people who will do, support, or be apathetic to “evil” things. But recognizing external factors isn’t a denial of personal responsibility. The point is that we cannot deny that we are all capable of evil — perhaps in similar degree of our ability to be heroes — and that we can either deal with the circumstances that influence people to the dark side or ignore it at our own peril.
“I have met the enemy, and it is us.” – Pogo