What Is It Good For?

            I recently heard a quote that said, in essence, that the natural state of any two nations is to be at war – and that if there is peace, it is only because there is someone working very hard to keep the peace. Nations are always working to further their own agendas – be it that they want to spread their ideology or that they need resources – and so, without effort to prevent it, they will clash with others.

            This was a bit of a revelation for me. My thought process prior to hearing this was that war needed a reason to occur. However, this reversed way of looking at things made everything about global politics make a bit more sense – at least when it comes to looking at history.

            It makes sense that, back in the eras of survival, people went to war over resources. That’s how they survived, after all. As for ideology, well... people tend to believe that they are right and that it is their duty to enlighten others.

            Nowadays, lots of effort is put into keeping peace. It doesn’t always work, but it’s become important for survival with our destructive capabilities. Lots of people work very hard at keeping the peace – it certainly doesn’t come naturally.

            This bit of insight may not seem very important, but as a writer it has completely changed my perspective. When working on building a world, and stringing together plotlines, I no longer have to ask myself, “Why is there a war?” Instead I ask, “Why is there peace? Who is behind the peace?”

            And, if I’m in a particularly destructive mood, I’ll add, “How will the world change if something happens to the peace keeper?”

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.


If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

What is Evil? Really?

            The other day, Colleen asked me how I define evil. My reply was that I don’t, because evil implies someone who does harm through malicious intent. I feel that most people who cause harm do so unintentionally – or, at the very least, think they have the best intentions.

            It did get me thinking, though. If I really had to define evil, how would I do it? What causes people to cause harm?

            Greed was what I came up with first. Greed for wealth or greed for power or greed for anything, really. That’s where evil, if it truly exists, is most visible. It causes people to stockpile money, harming the economy by making less money available to go around. It causes politicians to lie so they can get elected. It starts wars over land or resources. Almost all evil can be linked back to greed.

            Yet, even most of those people don’t view themselves as evil. They feel they’re doing what they must, or perhaps what everyone else is doing.

            That got my mind on the track of how people can cause so much harm and either be unaware or think it’s okay. It brought me to the essence of what motivates people: what they believe. Someone who lives on the streets and must steal to survive might view those who do not help them as evil, and would they be wrong? Is it not more evil to allow someone to starve to death than to help them survive? At the same time, the people being stolen from would view the thief as evil, and would they be wrong? After all, stealing to feed oneself without concern for those being harmed is more evil than choosing to starve to death.

            Both sides have merit, yet neither will budge from their positions. Their views and beliefs are set in stone. They each know with certainty that they are good, and the other is evil.

            So it was that I arrived at the best definition of evil I could come up with.

            All it takes to be evil is to believe you are right and that there is no possibility you are wrong.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.