Category: Let's talk
If you listen to the news it's full of horrible crimes, things that people have done to other people, people like Saddam hussain, terrorists blowing up innocent people. And on the other side we hear of people doing good in the world, missionaries going to Africa, people doing charity work, volunteering because it's what they do and what they believe.
My question is this, they say that there's good and bad in everyone. I can see how the best people in the world has bad points, no-one is after all. But what of the bad people, do even the most prolific criminals and murderers have some good? ir is it possible to be all bad?perfect
Claire, I really dunno on this one. I do believe that people can change, if that is making the good show, but I don't believe that if someone has failed to change the first time, they can then do so. The pesamist in me...
Dunno, it's a puzzler. Cynical me doesn't believe people are basically good or basically evil, because we just aren't basic by nature. We all have the potential to be good or evil and it depends on how you use it and what your life experience is and your motivation is. Like I said, the question isn't an easy one. Can evil people change? I'm not sure. Thing is, again in my cynical opinion, it's never a good idea to use news media as a way to gauge what's really going on in the world, because stories of crime and tragedy are spectacular and sensational and unexpected, so that holds people's interest. Too many folks might get the impression that things are pretty bad all over the planet. OK, it ain't paradise, but there are a lot of good bits, but the good bits are boring in comparison to the bad bits.
I think everyone has good and bad in them. Like for example those people who do good things for the world could have another side to them we don't know about.
Troy
I think every civilization that has existed has had some kind of dualistic theory about the world; nature has even been thought of as being both evil and good, and animals have been known to do some pretty rotten things too. I think we all have the potential to do both good and evil things though, and we have the choice to choose between the two. Every human being knows how to do bad things; being governed by good or evil is completely in our hands, but I also know from experience that having self-control can be impossible at times. I think we all have a jeckyl and hyde within us. Oh yeah, I remember watching a documentary about some cult and a guy came out saying some disturbing things about the devil; that the devil has the ability to love but in a completely twisted manner. Maybe serial killers and psychopaths are like this, they love things but in their own twisted way. What scares me the most though are the monsters who can imitate human emotion and affection and all the while they're thinking about eating your brain. Yup, some pretty scary stuff.
Before we can answer this question, we must establish what is good and what is bad. Is it absolute or is it relative? One person's good is, or could be, another person's bad. For example Hitler believed that what he was doing was for the good of all. Everyone talks of the holocaust but he did things before that which helped Germany. Was it good or was it bad, it depends on who you are? Another example is 9 11, these people thought what they were doing was for the good of their religion and country. Our troops in Iraq, what they have done is destroyed families, homes, and hope for some, however, Americans some anyway, think what the troops are doing is for the good of our country as well as the Iraqis. Good and bad to me are relative terms as too is truth.
It is possible for bad people to have good points. For example, some gangsters are bad because they do drugs, go around killing people etc. However, they may be loving fathers towards their children, or they may be protective towards their best friends. These qualities would be ujudged to be good.
There was some guy who had an obsession with shoes in the news over here a few months agol. He'd been traced after many years by the police. Years ago, he'd raped people and kept their shoes as trophies. He owned a business when he was caught, and his employees didn't know anything bad about him. To them, he was a good guy.
Even Saddam Hussein and Hitler had good qualities. Saddam Hussein managed to keep several groups of people at peace with one another in Iraq, and many people would argue that that was a good quality.
Hitler helped recover the German economy. To people at the time who weren't been targeted by him, he was a good leader. Hence the reason they supported him.