Is it OK to fight on the side of evil, when you believe it is good*?
Interesting question! Most clearly, what about those (apparently) sad dupes who go to fight as mercenaries (which are outlaws, in terms of the rules of war - and often treated as such) on the side of evil and against good; and do so on what they claim to be idealistic grounds...
But in the situation where those ideals have been absorbed from the mainstream mass media...
So in reality their ideals of good are a fake mask on purposive (indeed literally demonic) evil.
When - if ever - is such a person to be judged as good?
My attitude is that when such people genuinely are innocent enough to believe that Western politicians, bureaucrats and the mass media are well motivated and honest - then they should be judged on the basis of their delusional ideals, and not on the basis that they are serving strategic evil.
But if they have sufficient insight to ask the question whether their idealism is, or is not, true; then they cannot be regarded as truly innocent.
(Especially) If they have sufficient insight to defend their goodness by arguing that they have joined the side they believe is good, on the basis that there is no viable alternative to believing and serving the dominant societal consensus (e.g. of rulers, scientists, doctors, lawyers, priests or whatever); then they cannot be regarded as truly innocent.
To be good, such a person's innocence depends upon untarnished ignorance; and (as Oscar Wilde said) "Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone."
The merest touch of knowledge destroys that innocence which is the only justification for taking the side of evil.
In other words, keeping oneself ignorant, by refusing to question that of which one is actually unsure; is not genuine innocence.
It is instead self-deception - and in a bad cause.
And as such one is rightly judged primarily on the basis of which side one chooses; which is indeed the definition of good and evil.
*In an absolute sense; there is no division between good and evil persons, because all humans are variously mixed. As Solzhenitsyn said, the line between good and evil runs through each human heart. In reality, Good and evil are sides in the spiritual war: Good is to be on the side of God by personal choice, and evil is choosing the side against God. So the point at issue here is asking if or when those who have chosen to serve the agenda of what is actually evil, may (in their minds) be taking the side of God and divine creation.
3 comments:
Self dishonesty, lying to oneself, is a detestable vice that I hate.
The opposite, self honesty, loyalty to truth (which does not guarantee perfect alignment with it) is a virtue.
If ignorance is begotten through dishonesty, then it is no excuse.
If it is kept despite honesty, it can be
small children excepted for obvious reasons, i don't believe the kind of innocence you mentioned actually exists, if it ever did, which is another matter - i think that it's not so much that it existed as such, but that the sides of the spiritual war was not as clear as they are now, so it wasn't innocence exactly, but also not obvious wilful ignorance. in any case, the sides couldn't be more clearly delineated now.
Given what you say, few people are innocent -- even those who have tried to be honest with themselves.
Everyone has some assumption, or illusion at times that enables them to avoid some unwanted or conflicting reality.
Its hard to convince a man of a truth when his existence, or livelyhood, depends on it been false. The Covid scandal showed that. But its not unique. It does seem to be increasing though. 'Science' is not what it used to be.
But this applies to everyone.
Its easy to see in others, but not always in oneself. I have centainly known people to be more honest and truthful than others-- but there will always be a gap. Even if only from an unseen assumption one makes that turns out to be false, let alone deliberate duplicity.
Is it then a question of degree of honesty, and innoncence?
The bible would say no one is truly good, no not one.
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