Tuesday, October 31, 2006
A break from the fun.
Hey guys. Just got back into a 'normal' workweek back in the good ole' Czech Republic and taking some relaxation time to surf the web about things that interest me. I've been thinking a lot about 'ego' lately and what it means to have one, the different forms of ego and consequences of letting it run wild. I read a book a bit ago entitled "People of the Lie; the Hope for Healing Human Evil" by a well-known psychiatrist named M. Scott Peck. In it he talks about the potential for evil in all of us. He also talks in depth about a major Catch 22 when confronting evil in ourselves individually as well as a society.
To paraphrase, he says those most prone to evil are those most likely to avoid investigating it in themselves because it reveals a flaw in the ego that would send it crashing down to the ground. Those people, he says, are most likely to ignore the foundation of ethical thought which has become a maxim of our time: the ends do not justify the means. In other words, according to the basic principle of ethics, we cannot do 'whatever it takes' to realize a goal. He also talks about scapegoating, the act of projecting evil onto others in order to hide or lessen one's own evil. The excuse we've all heard and used ourselves: "Everybody was doing it." This justification for present and future actions not only goes against every ethical and moral fiber we have but also intensifies the guilt by the acknowledgement that that our actions are not brought about by rational, self-reflecting thought. Namely, that we are slaves to the actions of others. The hope that we are not slaves of others' actions is what is called "Character". That we abstain from stealing even if no one is looking, that we stop and help someone when others walk past. Character.
Getting back to the ego: I can say from personal experience that, when allowing my ego to control my thoughts, words, and actions, it is extremely difficult to admit defeat. To say that I was wrong. I think we can all say that we've been in a situation where we knew we were wrong but continued the argument simply for ego gratification. Whether it be a quarrel with a partner or a friendly debate about sports teams. Most of us accept that we are wrong, when backed into a corner. This is a good thing. A healthy thing. The ego is not in control of you. The other direction that can be taken is to distort the past. "I didn't say that" and then lie once more in order to get out of the sticky situation. Not only lying, but spreading disinformation about one's past actions as well as disinformation about one's opponents. This, as Peck says, is the path those prone to evil take.
With that said, I came upon a man today that seemed to lack the good qualities that I just briefly discussed: Ethical thought and Character.
Not only did he lack Good qualities, he possessed Evil qualities: Tendency towards Scapegoating and Lying to prevent collapse of the Ego.
His name is Bill O'Reilly. And he is a man very much prone to evil thought because, in my humble opinion, his ego has taken control of him.
O'Reilly's lack of ethical reasoning as seen recently on David Letterman
O'Reilly's justification of future atrocities just two days after 9/11
O'Reilly's scapegoating to cover evils of the Iraq invasion, as well as his disinformation to justify his scapegoating
I encourage all of you to call your cable or satellite supplier and request that you not receive and pay royalties to Fox News, the channel broadcasting O'Reilly's program.
I Love you all very much.
To paraphrase, he says those most prone to evil are those most likely to avoid investigating it in themselves because it reveals a flaw in the ego that would send it crashing down to the ground. Those people, he says, are most likely to ignore the foundation of ethical thought which has become a maxim of our time: the ends do not justify the means. In other words, according to the basic principle of ethics, we cannot do 'whatever it takes' to realize a goal. He also talks about scapegoating, the act of projecting evil onto others in order to hide or lessen one's own evil. The excuse we've all heard and used ourselves: "Everybody was doing it." This justification for present and future actions not only goes against every ethical and moral fiber we have but also intensifies the guilt by the acknowledgement that that our actions are not brought about by rational, self-reflecting thought. Namely, that we are slaves to the actions of others. The hope that we are not slaves of others' actions is what is called "Character". That we abstain from stealing even if no one is looking, that we stop and help someone when others walk past. Character.
Getting back to the ego: I can say from personal experience that, when allowing my ego to control my thoughts, words, and actions, it is extremely difficult to admit defeat. To say that I was wrong. I think we can all say that we've been in a situation where we knew we were wrong but continued the argument simply for ego gratification. Whether it be a quarrel with a partner or a friendly debate about sports teams. Most of us accept that we are wrong, when backed into a corner. This is a good thing. A healthy thing. The ego is not in control of you. The other direction that can be taken is to distort the past. "I didn't say that" and then lie once more in order to get out of the sticky situation. Not only lying, but spreading disinformation about one's past actions as well as disinformation about one's opponents. This, as Peck says, is the path those prone to evil take.
With that said, I came upon a man today that seemed to lack the good qualities that I just briefly discussed: Ethical thought and Character.
Not only did he lack Good qualities, he possessed Evil qualities: Tendency towards Scapegoating and Lying to prevent collapse of the Ego.
His name is Bill O'Reilly. And he is a man very much prone to evil thought because, in my humble opinion, his ego has taken control of him.
O'Reilly's lack of ethical reasoning as seen recently on David Letterman
O'Reilly's justification of future atrocities just two days after 9/11
O'Reilly's scapegoating to cover evils of the Iraq invasion, as well as his disinformation to justify his scapegoating
I encourage all of you to call your cable or satellite supplier and request that you not receive and pay royalties to Fox News, the channel broadcasting O'Reilly's program.
I Love you all very much.
