I know this wasn’t at all the point of this article, but I’m going to go about saying this from now on: "When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle." Sure, it doesn’t roll off the tongue, but I’ll make it work.
And also, this is a timely article for an aching American rn. As always, told poignantly with style. Great article, Gunnar.
I'm surprised the CCP is not mentioned in this. They physically remove groups of people, they segregate platforms, censor concepts and erase historical events... Damnatio memoriae at its finest.
I suspect absolutely everyone does, at least in the self-centred universe of their family. I'm sure even Hitler thought he was doing the right thing, you know "making the hard choices nobody else was prepared to do".
The only evil villains are from Hollywood.
I'm less sure about individual killers and rapists. But I suspect they either have no concept of good and evil or they have some imagined justification that makes them a good guy.
Most of us believe we’ve developed behaviors inline with conscious control guided by personal values and choice.
It’s often more likely the other way around. We find ourselves in horrible situations that are often justified or even celebrated, but sometimes excused or rejected/apologized for because there are numerous simultaneous forms of programming, execution, and sense-making of it all. Spoken values seem to stem from this interpretation.
Perpetrators of genocide will talk about what they did in various contexts as seemingly different people.
This is why context-shaping is important. It’s why Donald Trump’s demeanor and physical posture changed to that of a boy being scolded as he was being prayed for by the Episcopalian bishop.
I know this wasn’t at all the point of this article, but I’m going to go about saying this from now on: "When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle." Sure, it doesn’t roll off the tongue, but I’ll make it work.
And also, this is a timely article for an aching American rn. As always, told poignantly with style. Great article, Gunnar.
Thanks, Danielle. Too bad it remains so relatable, isn’t it? Let’s hope some sense and sensibility return to the world of politics soon.
I'm surprised the CCP is not mentioned in this. They physically remove groups of people, they segregate platforms, censor concepts and erase historical events... Damnatio memoriae at its finest.
Oh yes, they definitely should be on the list (which is growing too long for comfort...)
"the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing"
Yes, the justification cry of terrorists everwhere!
That's the tricky thing, isn't it? (Almost) everybody thinks they're one of the good ones ;).
I suspect absolutely everyone does, at least in the self-centred universe of their family. I'm sure even Hitler thought he was doing the right thing, you know "making the hard choices nobody else was prepared to do".
The only evil villains are from Hollywood.
I'm less sure about individual killers and rapists. But I suspect they either have no concept of good and evil or they have some imagined justification that makes them a good guy.
Most of us believe we’ve developed behaviors inline with conscious control guided by personal values and choice.
It’s often more likely the other way around. We find ourselves in horrible situations that are often justified or even celebrated, but sometimes excused or rejected/apologized for because there are numerous simultaneous forms of programming, execution, and sense-making of it all. Spoken values seem to stem from this interpretation.
Perpetrators of genocide will talk about what they did in various contexts as seemingly different people.
This is why context-shaping is important. It’s why Donald Trump’s demeanor and physical posture changed to that of a boy being scolded as he was being prayed for by the Episcopalian bishop.
I like that observation!