Good or Evil

The idea of good and bad is the basis for nearly every story we've ever read, but with the shifting tides of today's society, is that all it's become? A fairy tale ?

I like to think of the quantities of “right” and “wrong” as paint colors. Everyone is contributing to their own painting in which they are making their own brushstrokes. Sometimes, the painting ends up being a little too abstract and sometimes it's coordinated to become photo realistic.

Now even if you're not much of a painter, I’m sure you’ve all given this particular topic some thought at one point or another. Whether it be in reference to yourself or after some asshole cuts you off in traffic. We’ve all been there. We all Silently Question humanities darkest and lightest of inclinations. And I’m also sure you eventually came to the conclusion- as most of us do- that there’s truly no such thing as a bad person, or a good person and actions are all predetermined by a mix of each person’s upbringing, biology and circumstances. We all do good things, we all do bad things and that’s just that. Right? But what If there’s more to it. This debate has been going on for centuries and philosophers have battled with the complexities of how people naturally operate for just as long . So the question to me is, if humans are so complex and multifaceted, and we all know this to be true, why are we so accepting of this oversimplification OF OUR human behaviors to the basic categories/CLASSIFCATIONS of good or bad at all? If our actions are just as much a biproduct of specific factors as we are, how could/why would they be seen as so cut and dry? This way of thinking, this unambiguous designation, is restrictive to say the least, and flat out IMPRACTICAL at best. If no ONE is good or bad, wouldn’t it stand to reason that NOTHING is EITHER as well. but aside from that, who’s even qualified to say who or what would be good or bad, right? God? Your parents? The government? Society? And where does that influence stop and start ?

It's like, from the time you’re a kid, you always hear that your conscience is that little voice In your head, you know that little cricket with the umbrella, that angel whispering to you on your shoulder telling you what’s right. But if you ask me were not born with that. Its not a cricket or a little angel.. its your dad in your ear, its a your pastor in your ear, its your teacher …in your ear. all our conscience truly consists of is what we’ve BEEN TOLD and made to believe. Its not coming from us at the end of the day. Morality is an entirely unrealistic human concept, animals don’t find themselves burdened with the choice of right or wrong, all they know is live or die. Because When you factor in other equally human components ( that all of us are born with) such as ambition, selfishness, and egoism, you end up with people who are willing to blur the lines of what's considered right and wrong in order to justify their choices, actions, words, conduct, attitudes, character, principles… you get the idea. Its Self justification in a world that is drawn to instant gratification and convenience.

"You don’t have a conscience telling you right from wrong, you have set of rules society gave you to adhere to."

And if society is wrong then where does that leave you? That’s where the concept of ethics really come into play. Ethics being the rules that a social system provides us with and morals being defined as our own specific set of principles. typically we operate on a day to day system that utilizes a little bit of both right. And if you’ve taken any ethics classes over the years, you know that sometimes morally sound options aren’t always the most effective choice ethically and vice versa. And really, that paradox in itself should make you take a step back and rethink the way you view things. And it gets to a point where , if you’re like me, all those lines between good and bad, right and wrong, tend to get very blurry. And THAT’S NATURAL , one could even go on to say that the most successful people in this realm, in this life find those lines the most blurred. THINK ABOUT IT The traits that are praised in any ‘good’ person are often THE VERY SAME TRAITS present in so called ‘bad’ people as well. Determination, consistency, passion, The motivation / end goal is just different.