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To: general_re
the consensus view may actually be the true answer

Yes.
Like I wrote, too... the consensus may contain the truth. But unless a consensus is completely unanimous it is usually has some (at least subtle) variations, not all of which are true.

All I can say is to reiterate that, while people may do things that are objectively evil, nobody has ever set out to do evil for its own sake - everyone believes that they are serving some good in what they do

In reality...

Just think of the corrupt business big shots who have been in the news the last few years...the politicians on the take...the people who have murdered their spouses, children or lovers... the athletes who deliberately hurt opponents...the hospital nurses who serially kill patients, etc, etc, etc.
60 posted on 04/26/2003 5:30:40 PM PDT by syriacus (Schumer is a Smellfungus. Schumer is a Shmellfungus. Schumer is a Schmellfungus.)
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To: syriacus
Some people do things they know are wrong in order to help themselves get a promotion or an award or some other good.

Yes, but....people have an amazing ability to spin some bad act into being done for some greater good. "It's wrong of me to destroy this report that Bob's been working on, but I really need that promotion, and Bob doesn't - I've got three kids to feed, and Bob's not even married" and so forth and so on. Never underestimate the ability of people to rationalize getting the things they want by any means necessary ;)

Some people have an ability to delude themselves into thinking that the wrong they are doing is not wrong.

Very true, but that only reinforces my original point, that people do bad things because they think some good is served thereby. Setting aside the truly mentally ill and deranged for a moment, ordinary average people are wonderfully adept at finding good reasons to do bad things. Doctor Mengele surely thought to himself that what he was doing was for the greater good of the German people. It's all a part of the human condition, I suspect - the seeds of evil lie buried within us all...

75 posted on 04/27/2003 9:42:28 PM PDT by general_re (Honi soit la vache qui rit.)
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