The heart-wrenching tragedy at Virginia Tech on Monday has undoubtedly thrown many people into a state of confusion, dismay and pain. I would venture to guess that more than a few people have asked the question, “Why do things like this happen?” I think part of the reason we still ask this question is that we have come to have so much faith in our own technological and moral advancement that the possibility of someone committing such atrocities as Columbine or the attacks of Sept. 11 is out of the minds of most people. We convince ourselves that as humans advance, eventually all of the sickness and depravity of the world will be fixed.
In reality, human advancement has done nothing to eradicate evil. And tragedies such as what happened at Virginia Tech are evil. Our society hesitates even to use the word because philosophers and psychologists do not like to acknowledge its presence. It just doesn’t sound scientific to admit that a force called “evil” could exist and exert influence on the events of the world. But that moment when your stomach turns while you’re watching the news about 32 students murdered by a classmate is nothing other than your heart feeling the tangible presence of evil in our world today.
To admit the presence of evil means three things. First, it means admitting that humans are incapable of scientifically knowing everything. The Enlightenment tried to teach us that we are intelligent enough that we can discern all truth from falsehood by means of experiment and evidence. But to admit evil’s existence is to be humbled and conscious of our own inadequacies.
Second, acknowledging evil begs the question, “Is there a God, and if so, why doesn’t he just eradicate evil?” The answer to this question is much more complex, and I won’t attempt to answer it here. My own thought is that if we are willing to acknowledge our own weakness as humans, and concede that evil exists, then it does not seem far-fetched that there is a God who actively opposes evil.
The third consequence of admitting that evil exists is discovering what we should do about it. Again, this question is very complex, and I do not believe it has easy answers. But I believe it has a relatively simple answer, which is to love.
To love one another as brothers and sisters regardless of race, gender and economic status is to undermine the essence of evil and remove its sting. Evil bares its teeth through hatred and extreme, selfish motivation. By bearing the brunt of evil’s brutality as a community that cares for one another and sees no person as an inferior, we are much better equipped to fight evil than we are by placing hope in human advancement. To suggest love as an answer is to sound idealistic, or, as some would say, “hippie-like.”
But I do not mean to suggest that loving one another will prevent all evil, but rather that it is the only right response humans are capable of. No amount of security, teaching or even psychological counseling will ever address the root causes of evil with the same effectiveness as love. Take, for example, Uganda, where child soldiers have been abducted and slaughtered for decades. Communities there are finding that forgiveness and love toward those who have committed evil is the only way of bringing healing and peace to their broken world.
As N.T. Wright, author of Evil and the Justice of God, eloquently says, “Evil is still a four-letter word.” The truth about evil is that it is still an active presence in the world today. It is refreshing to me that another four-letter word represents the hope I have that evil will not have the final victory: love.
Brian Gorman is a junior English and music major. He can be reached at bgorman@umd.edu.
