My father was of the firm belief that good is much more prevalent than evil in the world. And the proof, as he saw it, was that we would not be able to live in a world where evil overpowered good. Such a thing would be unfathomable, he believed. And that it only seemed that there was more evil than good in the world because terrible things were always more noticeable and more life altering than positive ones. Along those lines, his favorite analogy when broaching the subject, was to imagine a car in almost perfect condition with the exception of one engine part that rendered the vehicle immobile. Chassis, transmission, steering, tires…all in perfect condition but that flawed engine part that kept it off the road.
It never occurred to him that his analogy actually disproved his theory. Yes, 99% of the car was in excellent condition but the lone imperfection disrupted the whole purpose of the car’s existence, which was to be driven and transport its passengers. So, in the end, the bad outweighed the good even if it was just a solitary actor’s handiwork.
I thought about this recently as I was mulling over what it means to be a good person.
Watching the trailer for the upcoming film Operation Finale, about the capture in Argentina and trial in Israel of the Nazi’s infamous Final Solution architect Adolf Eichmann, I was thinking about philosopher Hannah Arendt’s controversial “banality of evil” which she coined in describing her impression of Eichmann as a detached follower and servant who saw his monstrous crimes as simply the job he was entrusted with carrying out. And, more importantly, an explanation as to how the average person can commit the most heinous atrocities with little acknowledgement of the inherent evil involved.
My intention is not disprove or support Arendt’s analysis per se but to recognize how it made me arrive at certain conclusions in so far as how we characterize ourselves regarding good and evil.
Too often we consider good people—including ourselves—those who simply do no harm to others, as if being a passive bystander is an immediate virtue. I have come to understand that being a good person requires an active effort in that regard and that residing on the sidelines is no real path to honor or nobility, let alone merit.
It has been my lifelong intention to avoid causing deliberate harm and for the most part I have succeeded. But that’s about it. Now, if I were alleviating some kind of suffering, helping with the wellbeing—physical or spiritual—of others, making a tangible positive difference in others’ lives, well, then I would be the first to describe myself as a good person. But merely abstaining from evil is not enough. Sadly, I’m far from alone in this category.
My younger brother, on the other hand, has put his life on hold to care for our elderly and memory-challenged mother. He’s been doing this for a few years now, with loving care and devotion, even at times when she can be incredibly but involuntarily difficult because of her deteriorating condition. And yes, one can point readily to her devotion to him when in his ‘tween/early teen years he was the one who needed constant care and attention after a bad car accident, as the catalyst or motivation for his fidelity to our mother in this trying situation. But as a close friend pointed out, other children with a similar history and predicament have chosen to absolve themselves partially or completely from all responsibility when it comes to the care of their parents or other loved ones, but my brother has faced this challenge with patience, grace and love. He, is a good person; I’m just OK.
Those of you actually doing good out there, thank you. We OK people need to catch up to you. It’s the very least we can do if we want to be even remotely considered decent people. OK, then.
