Evidence to the Contrary

Evidence to the Contrary

John Paul Derryberry

This week we begin with an excerpt from chapter nine, The Evil of Silence, in Caste by Isabel Wilkerson:

"The ash rose from the crematorium into the air, carried by karma and breeze, and settled onto the front steps and geranium beds of the townspeople living outside the gates of death at Sachsenhausen, north of Berlin. The ash coated the swing sets and paddling pools in the backyards of the townspeople."

My skin crawled as I read that passage while watching the flock of geese roam my back yard. I couldn't help wondering what I would do if a Nazi crematorium rained down human ash in my tranquil backyard.  The truth is, many Germans disagreed with what the Nazis were doing but the problem at that point was too big for any one person to stop it.  Thus, everyone became complicit in the evil that was transpiring. It has happened repeatedly in human history—horrible acts committed while the majority sweep the ash under the rug and eat their Friday dinner. They can attend a lynching on Saturday, read the good book on Sunday. Evidence presented to challenge their view, which might force them to act, is dismissed as gossip, rumors, fake news.  Most people's conscience is shattered when presented with truth to the false narrative we have crafted in our heads. So we decide it is better to pretend our false story is correct than to face evidence to the contrary.

Every political party does this; every religion does this; every government actively participates in it. Pro-Life believers are staunch conservatives, despite growing evidence that under Democrat presidents abortions are reduced, but they increase under Republican presidents. This trend has continued under Trump. Unions predominately vote liberal, but growing evidence shows some democratic policies have not supported the unions. Numerous Christians want to end homelessness, but again, evidence suggests Republican policies increase homelessness. The evidence is there to combat your theories, but when presented with it, we shut our eyes for, like four years, wishing away the green veggies on their plate—no amount of wishing changes the evidence.

And this is where we sit as human culture, still not the free thinkers we claim to be, even though the evidence is more accessible than ever before.  We continue to wish it to be different and yet  remain blindly loyal to people, groups, or organizations that do not align with our actual wants, wishes, and desires. Evil exists; it probably always will. Some jaded, stunted group or person will always want to burn people, forcibly separate children from parents, or attempt to undermine democracy.  They will always twist meanings of words such as democracy, socialism, truth, power, and patriotic.

These types of people always rise to power because power is intoxicating. What they do is a reflection of them. What is a reflection of us is what we do when presented with evidence that disrupts our values. Do we act, do we protect the weak, do we abandon our support for wicked people that have deceived us? Or, do we sweep those ashes under our rugs and say what we are thankful for this coming Thursday while we deny it for others.  Remember, there is a reason the quote by Edmond Burke circles the internet, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." It's because it's true, and all the evidence we have supports that notion fully!