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Evil
ˈiːv(ə)l
ˈiːv(ə)l
Adjective:
profoundly immoral and wicked.
embodying or associated with the forces of the devil.
harmful or tending to harm.
(of a smell or sight) extremely unpleasant.
Noun:
profound immorality and wickedness, especially when regarded as a supernatural force.
a manifestation of profound immorality and wickedness, especially in people's actions.
something which is harmful or undesirable.
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On July 17, 2025, in an article written by Peter Baker, The New York Times noted that "For the President, His Critics and Rivals Are Not Just Wrong, but 'Evil.'"
There is nothing more important in politics than to understand that different opinions, and different priorities, and different backgrounds, and different agendas are a "feature," not a "bug." The citizens who are ultimately in charge of any democratic and representative politics have to decide what to do. They can't do a good job of that if anything different from their own, initial opinion is believed to be "evil." The fact that our current president does not understand this is profoundly upsetting.
The worst thing about our president's misapprehension in this matter is that many people (of all different political persuasions) might start believing that it is appropriate to consider those with different opinions and priorities to be "evil" (as opposed to being "wrong") and thus to draw the obvious conclusion that any such person should be put in prison, or shot.
Is MAGA "evil"? Are members of the Republican Party "evil"? Is our current president "evil"?
Many might think so, and if any reader of this blog posting happens to harbor any such thought, please reevaluate. "Evil" is a "theological" term, not a "political" one, and any student of history is aware how many millions have died in the various religious crusades that have caught up whole populations in an effort to defeat those "evil" opponents who worship another god or who profess different beliefs.
Let us remember that it was the official position of those who founded our nation that it is fundamental to our system of government that both freedom of "religion," and freedom of "speech" are sacrosanct. That is what our First Amendment is all about:
Amendment ICongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Let us not take the bait being offered by Mr. Trump, and those who have followed his lead, and repudiate 250 years of our commitment to a political system that is not based on "good" versus "evil," but on free and fair discussion about what we ought to do, in our collective life together. In fact, to maintain our collective life (together) we need to let everyone speak out and advocate for what they think is best.
Though we may make mistakes from time to time (and electing our current president was one such mistake, in my judgment), our errors will be self-correcting, to the degree that we are willing to let everyone advocate for what they believe, and think is right, and then permit our votes to decide what we will do, in view of our differences.
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