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I sometimes get on a run of watching stories and documentaries on YouTube. Of course, if you watch one, then it opens up a stream of videos in a similar vein. This morning I saw a story on the thousands of phony sober/halfway houses that prey on addicts for their insurance coverage - sometimes becoming resources for sex traffickers. It got me thinking about the totality of things that are happening in America and the world. But, since I live in America, that is more my concern.
When they discover a child porn website, they discover thousands of users. The, almost weekly (it seems) stories of children found living in unspeakable situations of abuse makes you wonder about the many who are never discovered. The estimated one million prostitutes in the country, all of whom have hundreds of clients a year - so who are all the men buying sex from these, usually desperate, women? You could go on and on about the multitude of terrible crimes that happen every day. From public officials embezzling millions to people murdering their families, if you made a list of all the people involved in the spectrum from petty dishonesty to the unspeakable, it would surely include tens of millions of individuals - all of whom are someone's neighbor, co-worker or family member.
It really leaves me with the feeling that the whole country is a thin veneer of decency covering a seething mass of hidden immorality. Obviously, it is not a new phenomenon. There are endless stories of truly terrible things that were institutionalized in the past. You could include the various white collar crimes and the collusion of government and industry to create the war machine.
So, the question is; Are humans intrinsically good or evil? How much of what we see is just a disguise?
I don't think humans are "intrinsically" anything. I've known many good humans. I've also known a few evil humans. I think there are far more good humans then evil ones.
I don't think humans are "intrinsically" anything. I've known many good humans. I've also known a few evil humans. I think there are far more good humans then evil ones.
The point is not who we think we know. Take this single instance; there are 260 pages in the Las Vegas yellow pages of prostitutes advertising their services. That requires a huge number of clients. I'd guess a large number are married men with families. I'm sure none of them are going home and telling anyone what 'stayed in Vegas'. They are probably men who live respectable, lives on the surface. People's private, online, lives are another example. Look at the Chris Watts story. What you think you know about people isn't always the case. The common theme of all those dramatic national stories is the surprised friends, neighbors and family members who never suspected a thing.
I sometimes get on a run of watching stories and documentaries on YouTube. Of course, if you watch one, then it opens up a stream of videos in a similar vein. This morning I saw a story on the thousands of phony sober/halfway houses that prey on addicts for their insurance coverage - sometimes becoming resources for sex traffickers. It got me thinking about the totality of things that are happening in America and the world. But, since I live in America, that is more my concern.
When they discover a child porn website, they discover thousands of users. The, almost weekly (it seems) stories of children found living in unspeakable situations of abuse makes you wonder about the many who are never discovered. The estimated one million prostitutes in the country, all of whom have hundreds of clients a year - so who are all the men buying sex from these, usually desperate, women? You could go on and on about the multitude of terrible crimes that happen every day. From public officials embezzling millions to people murdering their families, if you made a list of all the people involved in the spectrum from petty dishonesty to the unspeakable, it would surely include tens of millions of individuals - all of whom are someone's neighbor, co-worker or family member.
It really leaves me with the feeling that the whole country is a thin veneer of decency covering a seething mass of hidden immorality. Obviously, it is not a new phenomenon. There are endless stories of truly terrible things that were institutionalized in the past. You could include the various white collar crimes and the collusion of government and industry to create the war machine.
So, the question is; Are humans intrinsically good or evil? How much of what we see is just a disguise?
I think you have a very good point about "the whole country is a thin veneer of decency covering a seething mass of hidden immorality", although I think that is a bit of hyperbole.
But in your last paragraph where you talk about "are humans intrinsically good or evil"...it's not an either/or situation.
The only thing keeping many many people from going ahead and doing some of these things, is the negative consequences, jail, loss of their freedom, etc.
Think about it, if there were no laws against robbing a bank...how many people would be out robbing banks the next day?!
**this is one reason Ive always thought the 10 commandments and Christianity was suspicious, most of the biblical laws tend to benefit a totally secular society.
That is especially true if you look at wartime atrocities. All people need is for cruelty to be sanctioned or ignored and it seems to have no limits. It took many, many people to make the holocaust possible, or the Rape of Nanking, the rapes of 100,000 women in Berlin by Russian soldiers and on and on - all those who took part were previously just young men from ordinary walks of life. More recently there was the Rwandan genocide and what is happening with the Rohingya people. I don't think it's even possible to make a list of all the things that have happened when mob mentality takes over.
I don't believe humans are intrinsically good or evil. Sure, among the population there are exceptions, probably due to physical abnormalities at birth or damage sustained at some point, but overall humans are intrinsically built for survival and procreation. Humans after all are animals. Humans are both selfish and social. Sometimes those characteristics result in good and evil actions. Having superior intelligence compared to all other animals results in more advanced behavior as far as good and evil are concerned. Our advanced society (compared to other animals) creates a set of moral norms, which are used to judge what is good and what's evil. In the wild animal kingdom there is no concept of good and evil, only survival.
I sometimes get on a run of watching stories and documentaries on YouTube. Of course, if you watch one, then it opens up a stream of videos in a similar vein. This morning I saw a story on the thousands of phony sober/halfway houses that prey on addicts for their insurance coverage - sometimes becoming resources for sex traffickers. It got me thinking about the totality of things that are happening in America and the world. But, since I live in America, that is more my concern.
When they discover a child porn website, they discover thousands of users. The, almost weekly (it seems) stories of children found living in unspeakable situations of abuse makes you wonder about the many who are never discovered. The estimated one million prostitutes in the country, all of whom have hundreds of clients a year - so who are all the men buying sex from these, usually desperate, women? You could go on and on about the multitude of terrible crimes that happen every day. From public officials embezzling millions to people murdering their families, if you made a list of all the people involved in the spectrum from petty dishonesty to the unspeakable, it would surely include tens of millions of individuals - all of whom are someone's neighbor, co-worker or family member.
It really leaves me with the feeling that the whole country is a thin veneer of decency covering a seething mass of hidden immorality. Obviously, it is not a new phenomenon. There are endless stories of truly terrible things that were institutionalized in the past. You could include the various white collar crimes and the collusion of government and industry to create the war machine.
So, the question is; Are humans intrinsically good or evil? How much of what we see is just a disguise?
I really disagree with lumping adults who participate in prostitution in the same category as those who abuse children. That's not a reasonable comparison at all. I would encourage any adult prostitute who hates their job and is in a desperate situation to seek the resources to quit and get out of it. I assume that those who do choose to participate probably use the money they get for food, shelter, and clothing. If they were suddenly deprived of this income they would have problems simply existing.
I really disagree with lumping adults who participate in prostitution in the same category as those who abuse children. That's not a reasonable comparison at all. I would encourage any adult prostitute who hates their job and is in a desperate situation to seek the resources to quit and get out of it. I assume that those who do choose to participate probably use the money they get for food, shelter, and clothing. If they were suddenly deprived of this income they would have problems simply existing.
I have nothing against prostitution, myself (or any victimless activity), but it is illegal in most places and is still something people do in secret. How many customers does it take to keep a million of any profession in business? Almost makes me think I'm the only one who doesn't. Even in countries where it is legal, few men will admit to using prostitutes, so there is plenty of moral stigma.
I worked as a Gay male prostitute for a number of years, then onto Massage with Happy Endings for 30 years, and even in my mid-60's I was still doing happy endings/prostitution. I have never looked upon myself as being abused in any way, quite the contrary, a good Hooker does just that: Hooks! A fly-by-night prostitute doesn't have the inclination or skills to Hook, or you might say, "abuse"/enslave the client.
I had one client much younger than myself who I saw for over 15-20 years, once a month, I had him hooked, and I mean hooked, enslaved. And 80-90% of my clientele over the years were married men, leading double lives. So spread your sympathy to both client and prostitute!
There's 2 types of customers for prostitutes, those into looks only and those who are looking to be serviced, in some form or another, and with this crowd doesn't matter if you're unattractive or 10-20-30 years older. Some of the better hookers in Hollywood are in their 50's. Ever see the movie Carnal Knowledge? Or Monster?
Eastern Philosophy has the answer to your question, good and evil come out of the same pool of water. Scratch the skin of a so-called civilized man and there's an animal ready to bear its teeth or use them. Just a mere insult can accomplish that!
If there was an 100% chance we'd get away with murder, we'd do it! And many do get away with it! Those featured in True Crime books just weren't smart enough! The smartest criminals just laugh as they read these books! The solvable rate for murder is only 65% nationwide, so 35% will never get caught.
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