I recently read An Ordinary Man, Paul Rusesabagina's autobiography about his experiences hiding 1,268 Rwandans during the 1994 genocide. This book is the most intimate account I've read about the mass slaughter to date, providing me with the slightest comprehension of how it could happen, and in just a matter of months.
"Evil" is a strange word, and I don't espouse it as a concept. The Rwandan genocide demonstrates that human beings can commit vicious atrocities against one another - but, to my mind, "evil" is a convenient label, a quick and superficial explanation for this capacity to harm.
To me, it is no more responsible to write off the terrible things that happen as "evil," than to say in the same context that "everything happens for a reason." Both viewpoints externalize causation for the horrors we witness, rather than acknowledging our potential to contribute to traumatic events.
This way of thinking is dangerous, because without awareness of how we can and do harm our neighbors, we remain susceptible to the kind of brainwashing that led scores of people to kill in 1994.
Or from 1938 to 1945.
Or at any conceivable period in history. Every documented era, from the beginning of time, bears out orchestrated murder on a grand scale.
In this book, Rusesabagina makes sense of the mobbing psychology that allowed Rwanda to turn against itself, causing the murder of 800,000 citizens by former friends and neighbors. He posits that there's little mystery to how this mass destruction could happen, and great danger that it could and will repeat anywhere, to the same degree and by the same persuasive method.
Whether Rusesabagina's actions were ordinary or heroic is an interesting question. I find his modesty, as portrayed in the book, disingenuous and off-putting.
On the other hand, the same principle that labels all of us potential murderers operates to our credit, as prospective heroes. Ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary feats, just as we can engage in unspeakably cruelty. An Ordinary Man adeptly shows why this is true.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The duality of human nature is indeed an interesting subject and you raise some thought-provoking ideas. I would like to think that our 'true natures' are good, that we do not all possess the capacity for extreme cruelty. That said, I agree with your point about the danger of the good versus evil dichotomy. Its a simplistic way of affording credit and blame, and categorizing human behaviour, which is far more complex. Our actions are also a product of our circumstances and I prefer to examine the social structures that create and re-produce us to make certain choices. To say someone is 'evil' is to negate all this, and to offer no possibility of rehabilitation or redemption. Thanks for the post, it got me thinking. Cheers. Cindy
ReplyDelete