# Evil Within Our Midst



## My Freemasonry (Sep 5, 2014)

*BRYCE ON MORALITY*

_- Have we really evolved as a species?_​
(Click for AUDIO VERSION)​
*To use this segment in a Radio broadcast or Podcast, send TIM a request.*




Of our 44 presidents, the most prolific writer was John Quincy Adams who maintained a detailed journal of his life, from boyhood until near the end of his life. Adams’ presidency was unsuccessful, but he served Congress afterwards as a dedicated public servant. He also had a keen eye for the world around him, be it social, political, economic, military, religious, or whatever. Being somewhat pious, Adams came to the conclusion, “man is born inherently evil.” This struck me like a thunderbolt.

As humans we are proud of our technology, marvel at our massive cities, consider the artfulness of our entertainment, and have conquered the land, sea, air and space. From this, we believe ourselves to be sophisticated and an advanced civilization, well beyond those of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Persians, Chinese, and Romans. But are we really? We still practice the obscenity of war, and we certainly do not observe the golden rule of _“Doing unto others as we would have others do unto us.”_ In other words, I see nothing in our history that would lead me to believe we have truly evolved as a species. Sure, we now have air conditioning, smart phones, and High Definition TV, but I fail to see how we are any more noble or moral than our predecessors.

In the Middle East we see genocide, where Christians are singled out for extermination by ISIS. In Gaza, Hamas terrorists have vowed the extermination of the Israeli Jews, as has other Muslim factions. They put human shields around their missile launchers and fortifications in order to gain martyrdom and draw world sympathy to their cause. Beheadings and mass executions are now commonplace in the Muslim world. Decapitated heads are hung in public for the world to see and photograph for social media. Such atrocities were practiced well before the birth of Christ. One can only conclude the Muslims are a primitive and barbaric race. It doesn’t take a genius to pull a trigger or blow yourself up. It takes more integrity not to do so.

Russia stands poised to flex its muscles and snatch the Ukraine in the same manner as Nazi Germany snapped up the Rhineland, Austria, and Poland under the ruse of “repatriation.” This gave them the momentum to conquer the rest of mainland Europe, north Africa, and invade Russia. No wonder Europeans tremble as they watch the Ukraine helplessly.

During World Wars I and II, atrocities were performed by just about every army. In both wars, the German soldiers brutally raped and murdered Russians, and the Russians did likewise to the Germans. These two countries were certainly not alone in terms of brutality and savagery. It has been going on for centuries. We saw it in our Civil War, we saw it when Japan invaded China, and we now see it in Afghanistan, Muslim Africa, and chemical attacks in the Middle East. Let us also not forget the work of the Serbs, the Khmer Rouge, Idi Amin, North Korea, Mao’s Great Leap Forward, and Stalin’s purges, to mention but a few. Such heinous crimes against humanity, and the total disregard for life in any form, is essentially no different than pre-Biblical times.

On a more local level, it has become commonplace to hear stories such as a man throwing a baby out of a moving vehicle simply because it was crying; mothers snuffing the life out of their children; sexual predators, people sadistically decimating innocent animals, not for food, but for sport or simple cruelty. We viciously attack each other for a variety of reasons, such as domination, intoxication, a word spoken out of turn, or even as a game. Are these acts of God or man? The answer should be rather obvious. In addition to the perpetrators, we encourage evil by saying or doing nothing.

Evil knows no boundaries. It doesn’t observe borders, politics, race or religion. It is universal. So much so, one has to wonder where have all the champions of peace gone? Where are our role models and leaders; our Gandhis? Even Sadat was assassinated for promoting peace. Certainly there must be some good in the world, but the media doesn’t promote it with the same gusto they do for the horrors of the world. And as the American military diminishes in size and scope, evil is emboldened.

Like Adams, I believe we are born evil, but have been given the rare ability to rise above it, our intellect. However, just like any animal, we have to be trained to be good and we have done a horrible job of doing so, be it by our parents, teachers, friends, neighbors, co-workers, or the media. Both good and evil reside within all of us and it is a matter of our conscience to determine which path to follow.

Education is perhaps the best deterrent to evil, as it tempers the conscious, as does age and experience. Unfortunately, many people take education for granted or fail to understand its value and prefer living by basic instinct alone, thereby allowing evil to fester.

As sophisticated of an animal we like to believe we are, Samuel Clemons (Mark Twain) was correct when he observed, _“Man is really the most interesting jackass there is.”_

He continued, _“Well for example I experimented with a cat and a dog. Taught them to be friends and put them in a cage. I introduced a rabbit and in an hour they were friends. Then I added a fox, a goose, a squirrel…some doves…a kangaroo, and finally a monkey. They lived together in peace. Well next I captured an Irish Catholic and put him in a cage and just as soon as he seemed tame I added a Presbyterian, then a Turk from Constantinople, a Methodist from the wilds of Arkansas, a Buddhist from China, and finally a Salvation Army colonel. Why when I went back there wasn’t a single specimen alive.”_

Maybe God made a mistake when he picked man over the monkee.

We do not want to believe evil is as pervasive in our world as it is, but it is much closer to us than we think. It is not just restricted to the evening news. It is always waiting for us, be it in the Middle East or just around the corner.

_Keep the Faith!_​
Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.​


_Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com_

_For Tim’s columns, see:
timbryce.com _​
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Copyright © 2014 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.

Listen to Tim on WJTN-AM (News Talk 1240) _“The Town Square”_ with host John Siggins (Mon, Wed, Fri, 12:30-3:00pm Eastern), and KIT-AM 1280 in Yakima, Washington _“The Morning News”_ with hosts Dave Ettl & Lance Tormey (weekdays. 6:00-9:00am Pacific). Or tune-in to Tim’s channel on YouTube.​





 







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## pointwithinacircle2 (Sep 5, 2014)

The Cambridge dictionary defines pontificate as: to speak in an important manner as if only your opinion was  correct.  http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/american-english/pontificate 

Don't get me wrong, I read Tim Bryce, but I think it is necessary to understand what you are reading.  Taken as offered, this article writing seems to make sense, it has a kind of interior symmetry.  It takes an idea that many of us have been taught since our youth, that “man is born inherently evil” and relates it to a list of evil events from history and recent history.  The article then says "On a more local level" and proceeds to give a list of atrocities.  I suggest that the core of this article is fear mongering.  

Monger: a person who attempts to stir up or spread something that is usually petty or discreditable.  http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monger

The arguments given are not designed to be logical, they are an appeal to the emotion.   There is no offer of a solution or course of action.  It  The article leaves me with an empty, gnawing, disturbed feeling.  No doubt this was the authors intent.  

My apologies to Tim Bryce, who I understand to be an intelligent man and a dedicated Mason.  He and I simply have a difference of opinion on the problem of evil and how to deal with it.


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## Chaz (Sep 7, 2014)

A Prophet from Galilee once said it's an issue of our heart and what we choose to allow in will eventually pour out.


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## BryanMaloney (Sep 8, 2014)

Man is born inherently rough stone.


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## Levelhead (Sep 8, 2014)

That picture is the most hypocritical picture ive seen in a while.


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## dfreybur (Sep 8, 2014)

Being an animal, man is inherently violent.  I'm not sure that means the same think as being evil.  Gradually, over a period of millennia, we breed violence out of ourselves by putting the most violent in prisons.  Gradually, over a period of centuries, we value peace more than war.  Gradually, over a period of generations, we value nonviolent personal interactions over fisticuffs.  Where the end point will be is a matter of dreams in the world of today.  So we dream and we form our brotherhood to practice what peace we can impose on ourselves.  One more way we make good men better by striving to set aside this aspect of our own animal nature.


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## pointwithinacircle2 (Sep 9, 2014)

dfreybur said:


> Being an animal, man is inherently violent.  I'm not sure that means the same think as being evil.  Gradually, over a period of millennia, we breed violence out of ourselves by putting the most violent in prisons.  Gradually, over a period of centuries, we value peace more than war.  Gradually, over a period of generations, we value nonviolent personal interactions over fisticuffs.  Where the end point will be is a matter of dreams in the world of today.  So we dream and we form our brotherhood to practice what peace we can impose on ourselves.  One more way we make good men better by striving to set aside this aspect of our own animal nature.


I want to agree with you Brother, but I don't think I see it that way.  I wish we could "breed violence out of ourselves" but I do not see this as a possibility.  I see violence as a form of power.  Power misused perhaps, but power none the less.  I am of the opinion that every man, and every generation, has a responsibility to take power upon themselves and use it wisely.  If we shirk this responsibility power will surely be taken by less wise and less well intentioned individuals.  

The personal power of a man can be likened to the power of an automobile.  The power of the automobile serves man.  But with a moments inattention it can veer off the road into some obstacle.  It is this momentary lapse, this inattention, that is the culprit, not the automobile.  I believe that our course in life is in constant need of attention.  Masonry teaches me that each man must take up the burden of power, with the support of his Brothers, under the guidance of a Master Builder.  Perhaps someday I shall meet up with such a great evil that I will need to use violence to shut it down.  I hope that this does not happen, but if it does I pray that I may be strong enough to stand against it.


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## Morris (Sep 9, 2014)

pointwithinacircle2 said:


> I want to agree with you Brother, but I don't think I see it that way.  I wish we could "breed violence out of ourselves" but I do not see this as a possibility.



I ran across this article about a month ago. Pretty interesting and it discusses how we have become less "animalish"

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/11971/20140803/lower-testosterone-levels-human-civilization.htm


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## dfreybur (Sep 9, 2014)

pointwithinacircle2 said:


> I wish we could "breed violence out of ourselves" but I do not see this as a possibility.



Not on a human scale - I did mention millennia for that reason.  In civilization, prisons give the violent fewer chances to become ancestors.  In hunter gatherer societies studies suggest that the most aggressive 10% of boys are driven out of the band.  As pointed out in the article Brother Morris posted humans have been literally domesticating ourselves as a species for millennia.  The results are mostly only visible on a time scale of millennia - Attempts to estimate the murder rates in civilizations 2+ millennia ago suggest it was at least twice the modern rate.  Not a huge change but measurable.

On a longer scale compare the violence rate between humans and any other animal, including the supposedly peaceful bonobos.  They bite each other a lot compared to humans.  Our other closest relatives the other species of chimpanzee has a level of violence that would not be tolerated in any human society of any type ever.

Yet humans fight wars and the scale of our wars grew until we approached the brink of destruction.  Our progress has been at the personal level not at the organizational level.



> Perhaps someday I shall meet up with such a great evil that I will need to use violence to shut it down.  I hope that this does not happen, but if it does I pray that I may be strong enough to stand against it.



I see such an evil in the world today on the evening news.  There is a state that is killing people based on religious membership.  To me that's grounds for using the word was in a Congressional authorization of funding for use of force.


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## BryanMaloney (Sep 9, 2014)

Warfare and "violent" tendencies on an individual level are unrelated or even opposite traits. Individual propensity for violence goes along with individual propensity for willfulness, insubordination, and general unsuitability for any cooperative activity. Individual propensity for violence also goes along with lower altruistic impulse.

Warfare is an intensely cooperative, other-directed, and altruistic activity. Soldiers agree to die in huge numbers for the sake of a larger group. Nothing is more cooperative and altruistic than that. The extremes of the individual violent find themselves generally doing very poorly in a military context. They're bad for discipline. Large-scale warfare is all about discipline. Individual propensity to violence is the opposite of discipline. Thus, as we become more peaceful and cooperative at an individual level, expect warfare to become more and more horrible. The two go hand in hand.


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## dfreybur (Sep 9, 2014)

BryanMaloney said:


> Warfare and "violent" tendencies on an individual level are unrelated or even opposite traits. Individual propensity for violence goes along with individual propensity for willfulness, insubordination, and general unsuitability for any cooperative activity. Individual propensity for violence also goes along with lower altruistic impulse.
> 
> Warfare is an intensely cooperative, other-directed, and altruistic activity. Soldiers agree to die in huge numbers for the sake of a larger group. Nothing is more cooperative and altruistic than that. The extremes of the individual violent find themselves generally doing very poorly in a military context. They're bad for discipline. Large-scale warfare is all about discipline. Individual propensity to violence is the opposite of discipline. Thus, as we become more peaceful and cooperative at an individual level, expect warfare to become more and more horrible. The two go hand in hand.



Thanks.  This further expresses why I think violence and evil are not correlated.  War is violent, but calling war evil is a different matter.  The causes of war are too diverse.

My ramblings on the topic have to do with pondering that war appears to be a part of human nature.  With examples like the Friend to Friend monument at Gettysburg I struggle to tease out what is human nature expressing itself through conflict and what is human nature expressing itself through kindness.  I gradually come to be at peace with the existence of constant warfare in the world, no matter that the words don't seem to make sense when arranged like that.  One of the mysteries of human nature.


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## MaineMason (Sep 9, 2014)

I do not agree with your conclusions, however, I enjoyed the article. 

Man, like all animals, are morally neutral and have choices. Some men choose good, some men choose evil. Others choose evil thinking they are doing good. It is deeply nuanced, in my opinion. It's nice that we Brethren choose good, for the most part. 

I did enjoy reading this and thank you.


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## bezobrazan (Sep 9, 2014)

Levelhead said:


> That picture is the most hypocritical picture ive seen in a while.



I irony of that message is insanely hilarious...but scary too.


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## coachn (Sep 9, 2014)

All of these silly human problems shall come to pass once the androids take over.


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## bezobrazan (Sep 9, 2014)

coachn said:


> All of these silly human problems shall come to pass once the androids take over.



Not if Apple has anything to do with it.


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## dfreybur (Sep 10, 2014)

coachn said:


> All of these silly human problems shall come to pass once the androids take over.



Chortle.  At which point we'll have a different set of problems.  Society's issue morph across the generations with the solutions to one set of problems in one generation creating new problems for the next.  Becoming like the Borg or being replaced by V'ger isn't going to change that pattern.  Plus sa change, plus sa meme chose.


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## MaineMason (Sep 14, 2014)

Learn from your elders, both men and women, and if your father or grandfather is a Mason, learn from them.


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## BryanMaloney (Sep 14, 2014)

bezobrazan said:


> Not if Apple has anything to do with it.


And then it will be institutionalized discrimination against IPhones.


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