Evil exists. No denying it. And, yes, recognizing Evil and informing others of the traps it lays is immensely useful, but to see Evil everywhere while being utterly blind to the Good is a sign that we have been led astray – that we have fallen into the most subtle trap Evil employs. Fighting monsters is a noble endeavor, but we must remember Nietzsche’s warning and avoid becoming monsters ourselves when we engage in battle. Without doubt, bad news is ubiquitous, but what do we accomplish if report only bad news at the expense of the Good News?
What service have we offered if we have done nothing but paint it all black? When we leave those we seek to help submerged in open water without a shred of hope and encouragement to which they might be able to cling? Yes, I understand this is reality and about calling a spade a spade. To be sure, this no time for rainbows and soap bubbles. The rose-colored glasses most certainly must come off. And yes, I understand we simply can’t sugarcoat most of what we see. I also understand that reporting anything too positive would strip our messages of any profundity, but have we considered the reverse? That what we communicate to others is often too negative to be profound?
In our yearning to provide hope, may we actually be sparking fear and despair? To return to Nietzsche – we write of the things we see as we stare into the abyss, but are we aware of the abyss staring back at us? And if we are, do we believe that it has eclipsed the Good entirely - that nothing else exists?
No, let us be done with undiluted doom and gloom. Let us be done with courage that discourages and moralizing that demoralizes. Our perpetual pessimism peddling places us in unpremeditated partnerships with the pernicious. Let us abandon temptation of being too negative to be profound and focus instead on being too profound to be negative.
What service have we offered if we have done nothing but paint it all black? When we leave those we seek to help submerged in open water without a shred of hope and encouragement to which they might be able to cling? Yes, I understand this is reality and about calling a spade a spade. To be sure, this no time for rainbows and soap bubbles. The rose-colored glasses most certainly must come off. And yes, I understand we simply can’t sugarcoat most of what we see. I also understand that reporting anything too positive would strip our messages of any profundity, but have we considered the reverse? That what we communicate to others is often too negative to be profound?
In our yearning to provide hope, may we actually be sparking fear and despair? To return to Nietzsche – we write of the things we see as we stare into the abyss, but are we aware of the abyss staring back at us? And if we are, do we believe that it has eclipsed the Good entirely - that nothing else exists?
No, let us be done with undiluted doom and gloom. Let us be done with courage that discourages and moralizing that demoralizes. Our perpetual pessimism peddling places us in unpremeditated partnerships with the pernicious. Let us abandon temptation of being too negative to be profound and focus instead on being too profound to be negative.
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