This I Believe

I Believe essay.

I believe I have a lot to learn about life and the choices we make.

Last night, sitting in an ethics class, we watched a recording about “EVIL” and how it has affected our society and the people throughout the world. There were a few speakers that stood out, one being Maya Angelo, she talked about here past and the struggles she faced, one being raped at the age of seven and a half. She also described how she coped with the situation in becoming silent. She didn’t focus on the rape itself, but how it changed her life. She told of how she took the negative aspects of the situation and turned it into good. She consciously made the choice to make good out of Evil.

Another person was a man that fought in WWII, he described himself as being good at killing and how he actually enjoyed the power and the act of killing and how, if given the chance, would do it again willingly. He also commented on a small village in Germany that fought Hitler and the Nazi’s (Evil) by not resisting their movement. The gentlemen then described that this village stopped Germany but could not defeat it but his Evil actions could. How can this happen? Later he told of how he changed as he grew older, questioning his thoughts and actions, he seemed to question his own existence on earth and pondered his purpose. In the end, he still admits to his actions, his feelings, and his willingness to do what he did. He, as did Maya Angelo, made good out of Evil by being able to recognize what he did as a choice of evil.

How did the dialogue affect me? It reinforced my thoughts of how cruel our society, culture, and species truly is. I don’t want to say all aspects are Evil, but most is. Based on the fact that we as humans have the ability to make choices, make the situation even worse. I question, how do situations become and act of Evil? When do these situations become Evil? Why do situations become Evil. If we as humans have the choice to live by acts of good, why do we decide to take the path of Evil?

I will not get into trying to answer these questions because most of which are so simple, we as humans should be embarrassed, ashamed, and feel guilty. I will say, I as well as everyone else with the ability to make choices, should take a step back once in a while and assess our choice and try to see how the impact of the choices we make have, not only in our own lives, but others around us.