What We Learn from Raw Unabated Evil

Townhall.com ^ | July 22, 2012 | Kevin McCullough

[Kaslin]

"Seeing the dramatic impact of what raw, unabated evil looks like, is not something we are often able to see," I said on national radio Friday afternoon. "But when we do, it is something that we must learn a great deal from."

With the raging debates of public policy, cultural tolerance, political correctness, and all the other arenas that suck up the oxygen of what our media and attention tend to be saturated with, we seldom have the chance to see with such clarity the separation of truly what is good, and the horrors of absolute evil.

Friday morning at 12:39am Colorado time was one instance in which the curtain was pulled back and we were given that unfiltered view.

The troubled sketch that has been revealed of the shooter from that event is filled with conflicting stereotypes. He was described by officials from his undergraduate school as the "top of the top" academically. Friends from his high school years described him as someone who was very much involved in his church's youth group. His own mother--when initially confronted with the crude facts of the shooting--responded somewhat instinctively, that authorities, had "the right person" when suspecting her own son of such violence. He felt lonely, even desperate with a profile on an "adult" hook-up site. He loved science. He often rooted for the bad guys in comic book stories--likely emulating one in this very attack. And like so many, regardless of his intellect or his qualifications, struggled mightily to find work in the current economy.

There were also things about him that defied the stereotypes. He had no criminal past--his worst previous offense being a traffic violation. He even legally owned or purchased all of the firearms used in the Friday morning attacks.

In the end, we may yet find out a great number of additional things about the struggles, hurts, or inadequacies of his life. Yet nothing we will learn will answer the question of why he chose--this evil outcome--to inflict suffering and carnage on so many. (Some of which we are still figuring out. He gave up without a struggle, suggested to police that they go look for his other stockpiles in his apartment--fully expecting them to walk into his booby-trapped home and perhaps blow away an entire city block.)

Given that he injured and killed 71 people at the theater, with a goal of blowing up perhaps hundreds more, practical issues of justice emerge. I'm sure most decent Americans would have a hard time arguing against the death penalty for someone who was guilty of all this.

Other practical questions also haunt us. Questions like, "If theaters weren't considered a gun-free zone, would more people have survived?"

Yet at the end of this day, my thoughts return to the larger picture of what we saw--evil in it's rawest form.

So what do we learn, and how do we respond?

One of the common sense responses I am reminded of is that "in order for evil to succeed, all that is required is for good people to do nothing." For this reason alone, conceal carry laws should be the law of each state, each city, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. If a law-abiding person is able to disarm a maniac--if necessary through the taking of his life, would not society be a safer place?

One of the most touching reminders I saw in great abundance is the heart of American compassion in action for their fellow man in light of such harsh tragedy, shock, and paralyzing realities. The stories of heroism are just starting to emerge, but those who kept their heads and helped calm those who were trapped in theater nine--who did not panic--but instead encouraged folks to get low, and remain calm--no doubt saved lives. In the days to come, as we learn even more about the friends and family members lost, from those who mourn, an entire nation will mourn with them. Church groups will bring food to their homes, friends will pray, hug, and weep with them, and healing will only begin the long process of recovery.

Lastly one of the most important truths I am forced to realize in light of this week's events is that the only thing that overcomes evil, is the overwhelming reality of good.

It is in all honesty the best argument there can be for the existence of God. God is good personified. And while there may be some who seek to blame Him for the individual choices of the shooter, there are already dozens who are telling their stories of nearly miraculous salvation from the shooter who got off dozens of rounds without reloading, and walked out without a scratch. He was in the aisle of the theater with them as bullets flew. He was on the floor with those who were shielding small children with their own bodies, and He was very near to the heart of the reported six year old girl who perished after enduring wounds in her knee, shoulder, and chest.

On the scale of human understanding there is no explanation that suffices to comfort those of us left behind.

But if good exists (which we have seen being poured out since almost the moment the shots began to be fired) then we must also recognize that there is a day of justice for the evil and those who advance that evil with no ounce of remorse.

Hopefully we observed the advice of President Obama and Governor Romney this weekend and held our children closer. Perhaps we darkened the door to a church for the first time in years.

Ironically we may have equally questioned God's ability to be in control, and simultaneously may have been more curious as to His existence all at the same time because of the tragic shooting.

Yet none of those things alter the very real existence and unchangeable reality that evil exists--we've seen it on our television screen for days now.

The equally true and verifiable reality is that good does as well.

Ultimately our society will suffer most when we no longer can differentiate between the two.

I pray and hope for that day to still be quite far off.

[yetidog]

Liz Trotta just summed it up on Fox with a quote from Ayn Rand:

“The spread of evil is the symptom of a vacuum. Whenever evil wins, it is only by default: by the moral failure of those who evade the fact that there can be no compromise on basic principles.”

[the invisib1e hand]

“The spread of evil is the symptom of a vacuum. Whenever evil wins, it is only by default: by the moral failure of those who evade the fact that there can be no compromise on basic principles.”

An amazing concept coming from an avowed and confident Atheist.

Disingenuous, in fact; or deluded.

[surroundedbyblue]

“”Seeing the dramatic impact of what raw, unabated evil looks like, is not something we are often able to see,” I said on national radio Friday afternoon. “But when we do, it is something that we must learn a great deal from.”’

Really? We don’t see evil often? Huh. Well, I suggest this gentleman visit his neighborhood Planned Parenthod on any random day of the week. Or just puruse the “abortion” section of his local Yellow Pages.

What happened in Co is just the natural progression of the society we have been cultivating since God was removed from our public schools in 1963

[yetidog]

So does your knowledge of Rand’s (admittedly unconventional) life suggest to you that her capacity to understand evil is less credible than that of a believer’s?

[ETL]

"What We Learn from Raw Unabated Evil"

Among many things, to be very careful who you vote for.

_____________________________________________________

"It was at the Chicago home of [Bill] Ayers and [Bernardine] Dohrn that Obama, then an up-and-coming 'community organizer,' had his political coming out party in 1995. Not content with this rite of passage in Lefty World — where unrepentant terrorists are regarded as progressive luminaries, still working 'only to educate' — both Obamas tended to the relationship with the Ayers."
Article: The Company He Keeps:
Meet Obama’s circle: The same old America-hating Left
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YThjYTU1ZDBjNmQ2YzcwNzU1MmYwN2JiMWY0ZGI0NDA=&w=MA==
_____________________________________________________

"Kill all the rich people. Break up their cars and apartments. Bring the revolution home, kill your parents, that's where it's really at"
--Bill Ayers (1970), quoted in New York Times, September 11, 2001:

Article: "No Regrets for a Love Of Explosives; In a Memoir of Sorts, a War Protester Talks of Life With the Weathermen"
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F02E1DE1438F932A2575AC0A9679C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1>
_____________________________________________________

"Dig It. First they killed those pigs [ie, rich people], then they ate dinner in the same room with them, they even shoved a fork into a victim’s stomach! Wild!"
-Weather Underground leader and wife of Bill Ayers, Bernardine Dohrn, referring to the Manson murders

Article: Allies in War -by David Horowitz
FrontPageMagazine.com | Monday, September 17, 2001
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=63512670-BF7C-42A0-B41D-5D0FB9E09C09

[Kaslin]

I was listening when she said it

[Kaslin]

Please stay on subject and do not try to hijack this thread, since it has nothing to do with abortion, okay?

[rabidralph]

I don’t want to start any trouble about such a sensitive topic, but is there a problem with “normalizing” mental illness? I’ve seen some mental health commercials on TV with Glenn Close and her sister and other less famous people standing next to a mentally ill person with their diagnosis on their T-shirt. Things such as “bi-polar,” “schizophrenic” and other things. But if these people don’t take their medications, they cause problems for the rest of us. What is the answer, here? I don’t like the idea of institutionalizing someone who stays on their medication and aren’t a danger and I don’t like the idea of the State deciding who’s ill and that they should be forced to be medicated (all things being equal). So what’s the answer? I know a lot of FReepers deal with these issues.

[surroundedbyblue]

Evil is evil. And if you’d retread my comment, my point was that horrendous acts such as this are increasing in frequency because of the culture we have bred. No hijacking here. It seems to me the problem with my post is yours

[RatRipper]

Seeing the dramatic impact of what raw, unabated evil looks like, is not something we are often able to see,

Really disappointed when I read the rest of the article. Based on the lead in, I thought it was going to be about Obama. Oh well. Maybe somebody will write and publish what I had anticipated. . . .

[donna]

Ayn Rand said:
I am done with the monster of “we,” the word of serfdom, of plunder, of misery, falsehood and shame. And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into being, this god who will grant them joy and peace and pride. This god, this one word: “I.”

Lucifer said:
Isaiah 14:14
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

[the invisib1e hand]

So does your knowledge of Rand’s (admittedly unconventional) life suggest to you that her capacity to understand evil is less credible than that of a believer’s?

it suggests such a yawning gap in logic as to make irreconcilable mockery of her credibility.

[rdb3]

Ayn Rand said:
I am done with the monster of “we,” the word of serfdom, of plunder, of misery, falsehood and shame. And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into being, this god who will grant them joy and peace and pride. This god, this one word: “I.”

Lucifer said:
Isaiah 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

donna, you NAILED that one!

[Gamecock]

Really? We don’t see evil often? Huh. Well, I suggest this gentleman visit his neighborhood Planned Parenthod on any random day of the week. Or just puruse the “abortion” section of his local Yellow Pages.

Or the offices at Penn State University.

[yetidog]

Huh?

[Pelham]

Ayn Rand was fascinated by a young man who was in the news back in 1927. She admired his “absolute lack of social instinct”, his complete independence from other people.

She started a book based on what she admired about William Hickman: “He does not understand, because he has no organ for understanding, the necessity, meaning, or importance of other people ... Other people do not exist for him and he does not understand why they should.”

She had to clean up his character a bit for her book, as the 20 year old William Hickman was in the news for an especially gruesome murder of a 12 year old girl.

Ayn Rand illustrates the quote often attributed to Dostoyevsky “if there is no God then all things are permitted”. Where exactly do the ethics she wants to appeal to come from? The Greeks recognized this problem a few thousand years ago. Rand would have done well to pay attention to the Greeks and Dostoyevsky as they possessed moral wisdom that she lacked.