One of the great mysteries in life is: How do so many good people do so many bad things?

It is so easy to write off anyone we do not want to address in a meaningful way as being evil and point out their misdeeds negate the good that they might have done.  The sad truth is that there is not a soul on earth that could not be so dismissed.

So the question becomes how is that the same humans can on one hand be committed to doing the right thing and still find themselves doing so many things that are hurtful?

I live in the Deep South, the land of churches and southern hospitality and Jim Crow.  The people of the Jim Crow world were on one hand generally honest, hardworking, generous and committed to living a Christian life. Yet, they perpetuated an abhorrent system of repression and dehumanizing behavior.  My 88 year old mother-in-law is of that generation. Sure, the good church people were not usually the ones that actually committed the lynchings and terror, but they provided cover for those who did.  A number of years ago I asked my mother-in-law how she and her peers, after WW2, had justified denying the vote to the black vets returning from fighting the same war their brothers and husbands had been fighting.  She did not have to look for an answer, right off she said “Well our blacks just weren’t smart enough to vote.”

Her answer to my question gives me the answer to the question I am asking in this essay. Why do good people do evil things? I propose that fear supported by man’s uncanny ability to engage in self-delusion allows good people to do evil things. Continue reading “How do so many good people do so many bad things.” →