The term hate can be defined as “intense dislike; extreme aversion or hostility.” So does the experience of hate sound like a pleasant one? Would you wish to avoid it if you had the opportunity?
Hate for others would seem to be the product of misunderstanding or discomfort. If I fail to see your justification for an action, I may become angry. If your actions continue to anger me, I may form a hate for you. Think about that for a second. I allow the actions in which you feel justified to engage cause me incredible discomfort. And why? Because you are obviously wrong. My idea of right and wrong is infallible. You are intentionally doing wrong. Is it vanity that causes this perspective?
The other source of hate, discomfort, would appear to be the product of our desire to survive, to be prepared for potential problems. If you engage in acts which are unfamiliar to me, I am less equipped to protect myself from potential outcomes. With no experience with your actions, I am less equipped to predict potential outcomes. We tend to gravitate toward likeminded people. A second voicing of a similar perspective is confirming to us. In a seemingly uncertain world, confirmation aides in our self-perceived abilities. Someone who sees things differently makes us uncomfortable. If they are right, then we are wrong. If we are wrong, we are not well equipped to deal with potential problems. If a person engages in acts we find foreign, we are less equipped to deal with their actions. Naturally, we are drawn away from that which causes us discomfort. The inability to protect oneself causes one pain. We hate pain. Therefore, we feel justified in hating the source of our pain.
So, if you are following, “I hate you because you are different. Your actions scare me and I would rather you conform to my way of doing things. I know I’m right. That makes you wrong.” – “Well, I hate you because you hate me. You are not justified in hating me. You are wrong because I am right.”
I hate you because you’re different from me
So grab Dad’s shotgun. Then we’ll see
How many mantras I can recite
But a louder fight doesn’t mean I’m right
Well I hate you because you hate me
So grab Dad’s shotgun. Then we’ll see
Which of us has a thicker head
Which of us will end up dead
I hate you because you hate me because I hate you
I hate you
BANG
So is the source vanity – a belief that we know more about right and wrong than others? I have done things many would find morally condemnable. But I felt justified at the time. I didn’t feel as though I were engaging in an act of evil. I felt as though my circumstances justified this act which I would normally view as wrong. Is an evil act still evil if the actor’s intentions are good?
Would it be an act of evil to attempt to save a life and end up terminating another as an accidental result?
Let’s say I accidentally kill someone with my car. I was not engaged in any reckless or dangerous driving. The person wasn’t watching and ran in front of my car. This is surely not my fault.
What if I could have swerved to miss him, but looked away for a second before? Was it an act of evil to look away? Under normal circumstances, such an act would not carry such consequences. I couldn’t foresee the consequence. but I killed someone.
What if I looked away for 2 seconds? What if I didn’t have to look away?- That is to say, I wasn’t checking my blind spot, but changing the track on my stereo.
What if I was driving drunk? What if I had driven drunk thousands of times before and never hit anyone? what if there would have been no way to avoid the accident even if I were sober? What if I was driving away from a man attempting to shoot me? What if I was driving an innocent child away from a man who was trying to kill her? What if I were driving 10 children away from their deaths?
What if I wasn’t drunk, but tired? What if I had to drive tired every day in order to make enough money to support myself? What if I had a brain tumor removed when I was 20 and still get tired behind the wheel 10 years later? What if I work 3 jobs in order to survive and my eyes are tired by the end of every day? There is no time to stop and let my eyes rest, as I need to get home to begin my work-from-home job. I could get a higher paying, 9 to 5 job at which I would not feel I am making a positive impact on my world, but am hurting others as means to my gain. Then I would be able to stop and nap. Of course I would have to find a new home for my dog. It would be unfair to keep him locked inside for so many hours.
What if I felt justified in my action?
What if I attempted to live my life for the greater good?
Now that’s interesting. Can any act be considered evil if the actor is attempting to live his/her life for the greater good?
What is the greater good? Is it me? Is it my friends? Is it our planet? What makes your good greater than mine?
Author Phil Force 