The Nazi Inside

I've been hearing the word "evil" being thrown around a lot since the Newtown, Connecticut shooting. We are quick to assign meaning of "evil" to the perpetrators of mass shootings, rapists, killers, and everyone except for ourselves. Above is a picture taken in 1941 of a Christmas party Hitler threw for his generals. We  often see these Nazis for example as pure evil, in fact their actions were cruel, inhumane, and evil. However, are these men and women any different than us? Would we had the guts to stand up to Hitler? To not join the Hitler youth? In fact, according to the Stanley Milgram experiments we are all easily capable of equal evil to those in the past. Even the best of us are not immune. For centuries, Christians have been considered slavery as not necessarily evil. Some even used scripture to justify slavery for centuries.

Yes, the killer committed an absolutely reprehensible crime. He robbed the families and the world of  the lives of these people with entire futures ahead of them. But is this shooter any different than us? Could we commit the same crime if we were born with a mental disability, prone to violent episodes? Or what would happen to our moral characters if we were sexually abused, raped, or forced to do indecent acts?

As Gandalf says, "Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends."

In fact, the shot really reminds us not of just the moral decline of America, nor that we've taken prayer out of schools, but the fact that we are sinful human beings, prone to wander from the fold of God. We aren't any different than the smiling Nazis eating at a Christmas dinner because we could have easily be twisted into one of them.

All we have to do is see others as sub-human, as totally devoid of goodness, or hope, and darkness and evil has won and taken over our hearts. If we see others are mere animals or a bothersome insect, we would not hesitate to wipe them off the surface of the earth in an instant. We shouldn't be so quick to judge others, but judge ourselves first.