The Banality of Preening

RealClearWorld.com ^ | 5/1/2009 | Suzanne Fields

[SonOfDarkSkies]

Hannah Arendt was wrong. Evil is never banal. Evil is fascinating, provocative and mind-focusing. Adolph Eichmann was probably a bore at a Nazi dinner party, a dull bureaucrat following orders, but his acts forever fascinate the human mind. We try but fail to understand how a fellow human could do what he did without conscience, without regret, without remorse.

What is banal is the moral preening of those who judge the way others stand up to evil, who judge those who compromise in their human fallibility to fight evil so that the rest of us can enjoy the good (and the good life). What's banal are the pundits and partisan ideologues who get their hands dirty only changing an ink cartridge but who seek revenge on others who, acting in good faith, did what they believed was right in thwarting evil. What's banal are those who round up the usual suspects from history, usually the cliched villains of Nazi Germany, and trot them out for comparison in show trials of their fantasies.

[Stepan12]

Btw... an Israeli who interrogated Eichmann says he was not banal, but an organizational genius.

Hannah Arendt first opposed the kidnapping of Eichmann, then, wrote some trendy analysis for "The New Yorker" about him.

[livius]

What's banal are the pundits and partisan ideologues who get their hands dirty only changing an ink cartridge but who seek revenge on others who, acting in good faith, did what they believed was right in thwarting evil.

Nicely put. This is a good article.

[Red Dog #1]

Most of what we know of the “torture scandal” is from a paper trail created by carefully following the law. Somehow I don't think Hitler, Stalin and yes even dear old Fidel ever consulted a lawyer to determine appropriate interrogation techniques or maintained detail paper trails to ensure those legal standards were met.

[Canedawg]

An article that starts with “Hannah Arendt” is all the hook I need to read the entire thing. Her writing “On Totalitariansim” is intriguing. What a twist it was that she eventually became romantically involved with a former Nazi.

[ClearCase_guy]

Hollywood sometimes accidently tells the truth. In "A Few Good Men", Jack Nicholson's big scene -- "You can't handle the truth!" -- it basically a summation of this article.

[kabumpo]

actually, she had been involved with him from her youth, then got involved again AFTER the Holocaust.