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May 28, 2004
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Recognizing Our Capacity for Evil by Friar Jack Wintz, O.F.M.
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Q U I C K S C A N
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In August of 1982, I was with a small group of writers
who spent several days in Hiroshima, Japan, listening to the harrowing
stories of dozens upon dozens of survivors of the atomic bombing of that
city on August 6, 1945. It was one of the toughest, yet most meaningful
experiences I ever had as a friar-journalist.
One of my conversations in Hiroshima was with a Buddhist monk, Shigenobu Koji. Although he was not personally injured by the nuclear blast that killed nearly 100,000 of his fellow citizens, some of his family members died as a result of the blast, and the temple of his father, also a monk, was demolished. Although many commentators question the morality of the 1945 bombing that killed so many noncombatants, Koji confided that as a Buddhist he did not harbor hatred or revenge toward the Americans for dropping the bomb. "Retaliation is not the Buddhist way of thinking," he explained. "'Better to surrender than retaliate' is our belief." A more fundamental response, in Koji's view, was that people on both sides of the conflict must recognize their own weakness and capacity to sin, whether it be the Japanese who started the war or the Americans who dropped the A-bomb. "We have to transcend the discussion of who started the war or who committed the greatest atrocities—and simply be conscious on both sides that we are capable of committing sin." Once we admit our weakness, our capacity for evil, then we can move toward peace and reconciliation with divine help, Koji believed. (For more on Friar Jack's memories of Hiroshima and other stops on his spiritual journey, see Lights: Revelations of God's Goodness, St. Anthony Messenger Press.) How This Applies to Iraqi Prison Scandal In any conflict, it is important for all sides to recognize
their capacity for evil, as stressed by this thoughtful Japanese monk some 22 years ago.
His words of wisdom certainly ring true as we look at the Iraqi situation today—and
especially the involvement of some Americans in the appalling, wanton and dehumanizing
abuse of Iraqi detainees at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison. By definition, all human beings—of
all nations—are imperfect creatures capable of sin, as some of our own citizens are proving to be.
Those in the habit of assuming postures of moral superiority do well to leave the posturing behind.
Mired down as we seem to be in the present conflict in Iraq, we too have to transcend the discussion of who are the true perpetrators of evil and who are not. We human beings, on all sides and at all levels, need to admit that we are capable of weakness and evil. This is not to say that all evils are of equal gravity. The specific evil of sexually humiliating prisoners, for example, can hardly be judged as having the same gravity as the barbaric murder of thousands of innocent men and women on September 11, 2001, or, for that matter, the recent public beheading of Nicholas Berg. But it is an abhorrent evil nonetheless. And if, as some investigations already suggest, the level of abuse and torture includes even rape and murder, then the moral gravity becomes considerably worse. The American Trappist monk and writer Thomas Merton, who died in 1968, had ideas regarding evil similar to those of the Buddhist monk introduced above. Merton stressed that evil is not just something outside of us—something found only in the enemy out there. Rather, evil is part of the human condition. The roots of evil are in the human heart, as Merton came to see. And an important part of ridding the world of evil is the recognition and confession that all of us humans are part of the problem. We, too, are capable of evil. So instead of simply venting our hatred upon all those people out there whom we have named as the primary evildoers, we need also to hate and to uproot the evils in our own hearts— those evil tendencies that all of us struggle with, namely, hatred, fear, vengeance, bigotry, pride, envy, tyranny and greed. These are the roots of evil and the roots of war and violence. I explored these ideas and the thoughts of Thomas Merton at greater length in my E-spiration of February 13, 2002, "How We Talk About Evil," in case anyone cares to get reacquainted with the larger context. To recognize "our capacity for evil" and the moral failures of some, such as revealed by the Iraqi prison abuse scandal, does not mean we should abandon our efforts in the fight against terrorism and our responsibility of maintaining stability in Iraq and safety for its people and our troops. We have to make the best of the situation, despite flaws and serious mistakes made along the way. Hopefully this can be done with great resolve—and with greater wisdom than has been shown in the past. As more and more of us are recognizing, part of this wisdom means working in greater collaboration with other nations and with the United Nations. Just as we serve the cause of world peace when we as a nation recognize and denounce the crimes and wrongdoing on our side, including the abuse and torture of prisoners, the same also holds true for other nations and leaders. In all fairness, Muslim leaders, too, need to serve the cause of peace and international understanding by denouncing not only U.S. abuse of prisoners but also acts of murder and terrorism done in the name of Islam. More voices of religious leaders around the world need to make it clear that suicide bombings, beheadings and other acts of terrorism that kill civilians and their children are in violation of the true spirit of Islam and of the deepest values of all the major world religions. Nor can those who are Christian shirk this task. We too must also condemn all military actions, including our own, that don't take all the necessary care to protect the lives and property of noncombatants. As we become more aware of the immense problems confronting our world at this moment in history, not to mention the growing quagmire in Iraq, we become all the more conscious of our human insufficiency in finding a solution to these mounting challenges. We look for a source of hope outside ourselves and, indeed, also deep within ourselves. The feast of Pentecost (Sunday, May 30) offers us this source of hope ("Holy Spirit: Life Giver"). If you are like me, you probably feel bewildered by our seemingly grasping at straws in the face of the escalating violence, abuse, terrorism and distrust that is invading our world and TV. Fortunately, those who believe in God, the Creator of us all, have a source of hope, love and security to turn to. And those of us who are Christian have the feast of Pentecost to remind us that the risen Jesus has left us with a mighty power greater than our own. "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you" (Acts 1:8), he tells his disciples just before he ascends into heaven. And in John's Gospel, Jesus had previously promised: "The Advocate, the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything …"(John 14:26). Jesus also promises a special kind of peace, a gift that the world itself cannot give. "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you" (John 14:27). Please join me in this prayer: May the God of mercy, pardon, love, peace and wisdom pour out these very gifts upon all of us in the human family who so desperately need them! May God's Spirit come and teach us everything! Send your feedback to friarjack@americancatholic.org.  |
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A Message From Friar Jack Welcome! I hope you'll enjoy all of the news about what's happening
at AmericanCatholic.org, as well as my "musings." By the way, I am a real Franciscan
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Lights
Revelations of God's Goodness
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Healing Our Violence
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