We Can Do Better Than Very Bad

To the Editor: Kimball Shinkoskey

The “E” word is avoided just like the “N” word today. Apparently, evil is a politically embarrassing concept like slavery, a negative and destructive philosophy from the religious past.

So, then, I ask, are felony crimes and assault weapon deployments by unstable citizens just unfortunate errors? Is tyranny not all that bad? Financial exploitation of the poor all good? Lies and unfounded conspiracy theories okey dokey?

Women won’t even talk about rape as evil. Men don’t talk about alienation of children from fathers as evil. It’s in our interests to talk about evil folks. Hard core evil exists and is rising in great power today. We are enabling it by not saying its name.

The usual partisan ways to deal with breakdown in our “let it be” society, like mental health programs, expansion of church influence, and better candidates for political office, just aren’t working.

Mental health professionals are using the same old tired pop psychologies that make money but don’t heal patients, churches are brought to their knees by sex-abuse scandals, and government is rife with power-hungry bureaucrats.

Does anybody know how to do democracy like our ancestors did? Time to stand up if you do.

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