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CLOW: The evil in our country

Mike Clow

Published September 6, 2008 at noon

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This Web only Speakout has not been edited.

A while back Hillary Clinton recently made a remark that, while somewhat creepy, does bring up something many of us have thought about, although we’ve kept it to ourselves. She mentioned the tragic loss of Robert Kennedy but as part of her campaign rhetoric.

I’ve not been an extremely religious man in my days on this gloriously green earth. I’ve been to Church with my family on Christmas and Easter for most of my decades but wouldn’t get far quoting scriptures, or for that matter nailing all Ten Commandments. I do find myself frequently thanking God for the gifts I’ve received over the years including fairly good health for my family and a few hundred thousand other things including, very recently, having the fantastic fortune to meet the monthly bills. My kids are mostly grown and doing well and for these graces I continually renew, and try my best to fulfill my part of the bargain, the sincere promise to do whatever I can for our civilization.

It is only recently though that I realized, maybe you could call it an epiphany, that there is actual evil in this world and the devil himself has surfaced in some very recent and real instances, and not only shown his terrifying face, but prevailed.

And all it took was some willing and weak people to do his bidding.

There have been strong and gifted people among us, willing to take the reigns of leadership. They have arisen to show the rest of us that much can and needs to be accomplished in this world. They taught us that the struggle for justice and fairness is well worth the fight and that base human emotions, such as are exploited by the devil, including prejudice, intolerance, and especially hate, are not insurmountable. They showed that we Americans can embrace a greater understanding of those who might think differently from us. Sadly it has been possible, and in fact way too easy, for Satan to feed our weaknesses until he found a Sirhan Sirhan, a James Earl Ray, or a Lee Harvey Oswald.

John and Bobby Kennedy as well as Martin L. King were struck down just when they were beginning to have their greatest positive impact on the country and world.

Looking at those examples it almost seems like whenever this country gets close to becoming a nobler nation, something terrible happens. Some weak, hate filled, racist or greedy person (or group) succumbs. They succumb to The Evil and steal from all of us, the promise of a more righteous, inclusive, tolerant, compassionate, and virtuous National Identity.

It’s far too easy for The Evil to snatch that more honorable destiny from us. All it takes is an armed person, weakened by reinforcement that hatred and prejudice and greed are ok, to take from us the nobler national station we have been denied, intolerant of intolerance and abhorrent of hate. We can and need to be a beacon of justice and honor, knowing how much there is to do to make this a better world, in the eyes of God, Allah, Buddha, Brahma, or mankind itself.

How do we protect ourselves and our country from this danger? We can start by rejecting racism, hate, and greed and by exposing veiled arguments designed to protect those interests. We can strive to isolate those who spread hate until they unburden themselves of it. There will be strong honorable people that arise to lead us to higher ground, but we must help clear the brush.

Mike Clow is a resident of Colorado Springs.

Comments

  • September 8, 2008

    6:45 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Mike_In_Hartsel writes:

    Lordy, Lordy, Halleluiah. Saints preserve us.

    Personally I want tax breaks for any religion that promotes animal rights and makes humans submissive. Chefs should have to register as vegetable offenders. Wednesday should be the day of prayer. Watch where you walk, don’t look back, and it’s “i” before “e” except after “c”. And remember, Evil is Live spelled backwards.

    Who let him out?

  • September 13, 2008

    12:32 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    T1anda writes:

    Good grief!!!