I didn't even bother turning this into an Auxiliary Chapter because of how deeply relevant I find this in the current landscape of fiction. Too many stories show Evil as 'illogical'. It is bad and therefore causes tragedy, which angers me greatly.
After all, have the history of humanity been built upon peace talks and kindness? Did love and pacifism win wars or violent means used for chivalrous ends? In the end, are the acts we commit for the so-called 'right cause' any difference from violence to those of the other side of the conflict? Who decides what is 'good'?
I've seen too many stories describing hatred as a sin. Even righteous fury is no longer 'righteous' when put under the introspective lens. The most earliest to depict righteous fury in a negative light was Shakespeare who wrote of a man killing a path to take vengeance on his enemy without caring for those who stood in his path. Yet why do I feel his take more carefully written than ninety percent of Webnovels nowadays that shows evil as 'illogical'.
Evil IS NOT ILLOGICAL! It is human nature that we taught ourselves that causes us to commit Deadly Sins, our Original Sin of Vanity showing in even the most virtues of man who considers himself to be worthy of being loved as a 'Hero' or 'Do Gooder'.
The act of virtue has been overstated as the most logical thing to do, even though even the smallest acts of kindness we do isn't because it's at the base of our nature but because our parents had hammered in what it means to have 'good will'.
This is not to say that 'Evil is Right'. After all, we only call things 'Evil' because we know the wrongness of whatever we label as such. What I am trying to say is that you can't dismiss the logical cruelty of humans who seek convenience.
To put it into some sort of context. Let's use the old Hero Vs Demon King Trope as a template.
Whenever I read a story with this trope. What I naturally always see is the words 'Demons are Evil and Humans are good without question, that's why they go to war'. I know there are also stories that flip this and make Demons the good guys in Summoned-Hero-Seeks-Revenge stories but that doesn't change how childishly 'evil' is being used.
We are all predators who devour those who are weaker and less intelligent than us. Then suddenly these stories where another species that is our natural enemy comes along and suddenly they are depicted as Evil instead of humanity's rival species.
With powers based of Deadly Sins... Though they sound cool, display no understanding of what Evil actually is. Why is it that when this trope is used to depict war, it is nothing like Attack on Titan despite having the elements needed to become like it?
The 'Demon Race' in these stories are never depicted as the catholic supernatural entities that tempt people to do evil but are always just another breed of humans. Since what Writers are using what is essentially another-kind-of-humanity against regular humanity, why not show just how brutal and senseless war can be at times?
How some people tend to prolong a war and increase hatred between nations to the point that both sides would find peace to be impossible after they have lost so many. That's just how wars are.
In the end, it's just like how the Peter Capaldi 12th Doctor Who said in a speech about war. It is just meaningless deaths used to show off military strength until peace talks that should have been done from the beginning are done in the end.
But enough about 'war' in particular. Let's get more into what brings about the 'act of evil' itself.
Is it greed, selfishness, anger? You'd be right if you picked any one of these as your answer, but has anyone ever cared about cruel acts done for the sake of 'goodness'? I know killing a psychopath or locking him up is good for everyone, but what happens if someone who considers himself to be on the side of 'good' decides to torture a criminal?
Because the Policeman or Warden is part of the law and is thinking righteously, it would be celebrated as a 'good deed'. Even though such torture at the end of the day would help no one with anything. What is 'good' about this violence?
A more robotic person would of virtue would say that such a criminal should be behind bars or executed depending on the country's law, but would such an act be 'humane' if the person killed was extremely close to this Policeman or Warden?
What would be more 'humane' is inflicting vengeance on those who took something from you rather than robotically choosing what the world says is the better option. I'm not saying that vengeance is better. It DOES leave one empty and they DO gain nothing in the end other than some level of satisfaction, but that's all there is.
Some people unconsciously know that what has been taken from them cannot be given back to them. However, why would they care? Humans are dictated by what we are taught, and when basic human nature says that we MUST do as our heart tells us, then how does 'virtue' into this equation?
Doing the right thing is usually a convenient thing that can make us look better. There are people in the world who would help up someone who fell because it's convenient for their image but not donate to charity since it's inconvenient to their wallet, and such people are fine in my opinion. The world wouldn't make sense if everyone was 'good'.
It is fine for most to be skeptic about doing the right thing, because a kind main character who can show them such virtue would surely change them for the better. Why would people care about good deeds is everyone was doing it on a regular basis?
My point in this Analysis is that people are fine being human, both Evils and Virtues included.
There's no need to praise humanity as the ultimate good guys in stories because really... we're are just not. We are lazy and need things to motivate us constantly, we are glutton and don't appreciate our food nor the people we hold close, that's just what we are... Humans. Simply, us: flaws and everything.
For those who want more be sure to comment and Power Stone this story up? I'd love to hear any requests for Writing Blogs anytime. See ya later next time this week when my schedule is freer! 😊