We should not accept the falsehood that everyone is equally bad

The face of evil

By Ben S. Carson

We have met the enemy, and he is not us

The graphic pictures of a Jordanian pilot being burned alive by militants from the Islamic State, or ISIS, were chilling and raised doubts about the humanity of the Islamic terrorists capable of such barbarism. This coupled with beheadings and crucifixions gives us a better understanding of the evil we, along with the rest of the world, are facing.

These terrorists have stated their intention to annihilate Israel and to destroy the American way of life, which they consider extremely corrupt and evil. Undoubtedly, we in America have our faults like every other country inhabited by human beings, but it requires the suspension of knowledge of accurate American history to believe, as some do, that we are the source of much of the trouble in the world. Conditions in the world have improved more dramatically since the advent of the United States than at any other time in human history. Our innovation and compassion have provided one of the highest standards of living in the world while lifting conditions in many other nations.

Understanding that we are not evil makes it easier to identify evil elsewhere and to combat it effectively. When we accept the falsehood that everyone is equally bad and, therefore, we have no right or obligation to interfere with atrocities occurring elsewhere in the world, we facilitate the development and growth of groups such as ISIS, which are not dissimilar to the adherents of Adolf Hitler, who also aspired to world domination. An objective analysis of American history will demonstrate that we were late in joining the efforts of others to combat evil during both World War I and World War II. Hopefully, we have learned from these mistakes that it is better to fight enemies while they are in their adolescent stages than to wait until they have fully matured and pose a much greater threat.

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