I don’t want to think of evil, or believe in evil, or acknowledge the presence of evil. And yet … as the situation of Aleppo continues … as announcements of the appointments made by the POTUS and the reactions to that news unfold … as weather conditions continue to pummel the world with floods, snowstorms, tornadoes, earthquakes … as some around the world have so much, while others have nothing … as homelessness, contaminated water, unbreathable air, dangerous work situations cause lives to be compromised or lost … as freedoms are eroded … I must not be naive. Evil exists.
Where there is darkness … we must send the light.
Where there is darkness … we must *be* the light.
Let us offer good thoughts, light, prayers, healing energy. Let us focus on goodness, not evil, even in the face of evil.
© June Maffin
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Yes, there really is evil in this world. I am reminded of a film or TV special that interviewed the children of war – they had all lived through actual wars and many had experienced family members killed or wounded. I have a tiny experience of this myself, having been born into war in January 1941. The children said unanimously that war was never worth it. This reminded me of the fervent feelings of children in Wales when they enthusiastically endorsed the ideas behind the Peace Temple in Cardiff, and my own reaction that we, the current children, would never go to war.
Yet these evil events still take place, although all the children are old now. War is always evil. So we need to continue to recognize that war is not – is never – the answer. Canadians invented peacekeeping under Lester Pearson, that is, going to areas where there was war and helping to keep the warring sides apart – very successful in Cyprus, for example. The tower of parliament in Ottawa is the Peace Tower.
Jesus I think meant this when he told us to love our enemies. It’s an easy solution to label them enemies and therefore justify war. Instead, he practiced understanding of others, even those who came out specifically to arrest and kill him.