Good and evil influences in a society

What do we mean when we use these simplistic terms, ‘good’ and ‘evil’?
‘Good’ means a lack of self-centeredness. It means the ability to empathize with other people, feels
compassion for them, and put their needs before your own. It means, if necessary, sacrificing your well-
being for the sake of others. It means benevolence, altruism and selflessness, and self-sacrifice towards a
greater cause all qualities which stem from a sense of empathy. It means being able to see beyond the
superficial difference of race, gender, or nationality and relate to a common human essence beneath them.
‘Evil’ people are those who are unable to empathize with others. As a result, their own needs and desires
are of paramount importance. They are selfish, self-absorbed, and narcissistic. Other people only have
value for them to the extent that they can help them satisfy their desires or be exploited. This applies to
dictators like Stalin and Hitler, and serial killers and rapists. I would argue that their primary
characteristic is an inability to empathize with others. They can’t sense other people’s emotions or
suffering, can’t see the world from other people’s perspectives, and so have no sense of their rights. Other
human beings are just objects to them, which is what makes their brutality and cruelty possible.

It affects the individual and society negatively. People become like dogs. If they conform to the concept
of good and evil set by society, they are rewarded. Your efforts are recognized. You get a pat on the back.
You get a biscuit. They tell you, “Good boy!”. And because you’ve become a dog you wag your tail and
bask in all that attention. You feel good about being an obedient dog. Someone benefits and someone
indeed suffers. But as time progresses, more and more people suffer while the elite benefits. This is what
we are seeing now. Everything always has an end. In other words, it comes to a head. Money and power
are the sources of this evil in the most practical sense. Wherever you find those two things, you will find
evil. Then again, it has a way of disguising itself as good. And that is why it becomes more and more
difficult for people to distinguish the difference between good and evil. Therefore, since they have no
direction to look in, they simply conform. So how can we say that more people are suffering than those
who aren't? Evil hides Truth by disguising it. Materialism. Consumerism. People conform and become
subject to depending on material things to feel any sense of happiness. But because any single piece of
material thing gives short-term happiness, an unhealthy lifestyle of spending is born. So, the focus goes
on money. But because you are a consumer, you are working for money and spending it all at the same
time. So, your life is pretty much meaningless, to begin with. Underneath all that material distraction is
suffering. But the powerful and greedy don't have to work for their material happiness. They spend every
second of every day stimulating their lust. But they are like dogs. They fight amongst one another when
the camera is turned off. But once it goes on, they smile and follow the prompter.

how we can prevent evil to affect our society?

Our conscience allows us to live well, be good, and avoid evil. It stops you when you’re tempted to make
that bad decision that, if made, takes you down the road to evil. Our conscience tells us what not to do,
such as an unjust and evil act before we do it. Our conscience is something that requires training for it to
work properly. And where does that training come from? It used to be possible to get some training that
shapes our conscience in our education system; unfortunately, our education system seems these days to
be training everyone into “little devils” who perpetrate evil deeds, thinking that those deeds are good even
though they’re not. A vast majority of our conscience training comes from our involvement in our local
church, and our upbringing in intact family structures. These two things, the church, and our family do
more to inform and shape our conscience than anything else in society, doing a great deal in terms of
teaching us how to act justly, do good, and avoid evil.