MUCH-NEEDED BOOK The present Winter 2006 edition of "The University of Virginia Magazine" tells of a book which is now in a preparative
phase. It will be available during this year of 2007 and I will, most certainly, be among those who want to keep one handy.
It is going to be the book we have needed so long which will define "evil " - name such wrongdoing for what it, most truly, is and show us how to apply such a revelation to ameliorate as few of the festering features of problems present among us in our puzzling world-day peace actions.
Not knowing what we are talking about when we speak of specific evils we face, can result in some dangerous piecemeal suggestions for adjusting such gross misinformation to better conform to common sense standards of Truth and Decency.
The book, to be titled: "The Rhetorics of Evil" will study those people who talk about evil ,both those who commit it and those who suffers as a result of it. Jennifer Geddes, who is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies as well as Co-program Director of the Institute For Advanced Studies in Cultures" at the University,is currently involved in related studies at the "U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.
The University Magazine quotes Jennifer Geddes as saying:"I'm interested in how people talk about evil, either those who have committed it or suffered it." She is now examining Holocaust testimonials and memoirs in detail making use of the museum's large collections of authentic documents of that nature. She has delved into many of such horror stories or that . She "has been struck by" an essential difference between the reasons each decided to tell their tales."The perpetrators depict themselves as victims and try to elicit sympathy, whereas in victim's testimonies they are more interested in telling what happened and giving an account rather than seeking out sympathy."
How often did we hear the line: "They were just following orders!" in attempts to excuse individuals in charges of such conducts. We have, just recently, seen and heard the same method still being used as a reasons to excuse persons for miss-deeds today.
A serious study of "evil" is long overdue and I hope the Geddes book will meet such a need. We all have a moral imperative urging us to do something which redefines "evil" for what it is - wrong! That's the situation we face...together... right now.
Andrew McCaskey Sr amccsr@adelphia.net 1-8-07 [c417wds]
