In recent weeks, I have watched wealthy, powerful, and arrogant men needlessly inflict suffering on the most vulnerable in the United States and around the world and the unwillingness of those who could stop them from doing so.
This has led me to reflect on the nature of evil—on those who commit it and those who cheer it on.
My simple definition of evil is the intentional infliction of suffering because one has the power to do so. Cruelty is at the core of evil.
It is painful to watch leaders, for ideological or financial gain, deliberately cause harm and to watch that harm metastasize like a disease. What once seemed unthinkable, becomes ordinary and widespread.
Some hesitate to call such actions evil, preferring softer words like misguided or ill-informed. But I believe this moment demands precision.
Leadership is not just the application of technical skills to achieve results. More importantly, it is a moral act, which includes integrity, selflessness, accountability, and a commitment to the greater good.
While cruelty weighs most heavily on those directly affected by it, it also takes its toll on those who feel compassion for those who suffer.
And given that things are likely to get worse before they get better, our resilience requires that we take the long view, and that we take care of ourselves as we care for others.
Though we may feel powerless in the face of such cruelty, we are not. Each day, we can choose to ease suffering in ways large or small—a phone call to someone who is afraid or in pain, a conversation with someone who feels invisible, or donations to organizations that help those in need, among many other methods.
What could you do to reduce suffering, even a little, every day?
