All That is Necessary for Evil to Triumph...

April 23, 2019

In various forms, the statement has been made that, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”

Here’s my take: Evil would have less chance of triumphing if ordinary people would do their research.

I heard a woman going on and on a few weeks ago about how a Christian legislator was taken to task for praying and saying, “Jesus” at the Pennsylvania statehouse; and how a Muslim woman objected; and, “Because that one woman was offended, now we’re not even allowed to say the name of our Lord and Savior in public because it might offend somebody?”

The woman she was talking to was suitably appalled. The first woman went on so long that eventually I said, “She didn’t get in trouble because she mentioned Jesus. She got censured because she kept going on and on, and even Christians became uncomfortable. It became an issue because she did it at the Muslim representative’s swearing-in ceremony.”

“Oh.”

One doctor submitted a paper several years ago that said that vaccines caused autism. He has since recanted, but the damage is incalculable, because people won’t do the research. They hear something, and they believe it, and they make sure that other people hear it, too. (David E. Kelley, are you ever sorry about that episode of “Boston Legal”?)

It’s normal to have a knee-jerk reaction to something. I’ve actually been guilty of it myself. I’ve been the victim of it, too. That’s why gossip, family disputes, and Mean Girls flourish—nobody bothers to check on the truth.

But once you’ve had your knee-jerk reaction, look up the matter in question. Don’t just spread “information”; check on it.

Or you risk being the pawn of somebody who knows full well what’s going on, but is trying to further his or her own agenda; and you can bet that your well-being isn’t part of the plan.