[from mental emetic]

When's the last time you had a good, intellectual argument with someone about politics? I have great arguments with some of my co-workers all the time, where we forcefully present opinions, take dissenting views with consideration or at least tolerance, and display respect for each others' views with good humor and moderation. Of course, we're talking about Baseball, but at least this shows that we have the ability to argue constructively. I'm as much to blame as anyone -- I won't discuss politics at work. I have had intelligent, thoughtful friends tell me without batting an eye that George W. Bush is evil, that Socialism is evil, that Wal-Mart is evil, that Hillary Clinton is evil, and that the U.N. is evil (these are all different friends, in case you were wondering). To say that this sort of rhetoric is not helpful is to miss the point. It is a word that should not be thrown around precisely because it cuts off debate, or at best reduces it to a first-grade level (no insult intended, first-graders!) Evil does exist, in my opinion, but true evil is not nearly as obvious or clear-cut an occurance as many people's words would indicate; I believe there is a murky gray veil of motives and justifications surrounding much of human history.