The Ego and Evil

Theologians wrestling with the existence of evil in God's universe need look no further than the human ego. There's no need to invent a Satan; look no further than our own human imperfections, born of our animal inheritance - this is our original sin. It is the human ego that fosters man-made evil in our world.

Hitler - Stalin - two monstrous, perverse egos, unrestrained, allowed to take control of ultimate power of life and death over many millions of people. Utter evil, monuments to what can happen when single-minded egos rise unchecked. Today's evil men - Putin, Lukashenka, are also full of themselves. Pride, arrogance, limitless power, wealth and luxury.

At the top of the Ladder of Authority sit the boastful egos, full of themselves, commanding those egos lower down the ladder by way of stick (threats) or carrot (those below wishing to ingratiate themselves to those above, for whom a kind word from the Leader will make their day). In Western democracies, the monster ego rises but falls as it is put to the electoral test. I can't see Johnson staying long in Number 10; Trump's fall has only just begun.

The chaos that befalls humanity is either natural or man-made. The former - volcanoes, tsunamis, droughts, the latter - wars, revolutions. In between there are those where natural and human causation - famines and  pandemics - over which mankind does have some control. And once humans enter the equation, so do their egos. Coping with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse calls for teamwork, putting away the ego in favour of workable solutions, ones based on science not personal advance.

In the world of work, the big ego all too often becomes the toxic employer; "you join a firm but leave a manager" is an old truism. At a time when the labour market is full of job offers, ego-maniacs are having a hard time hanging to the the very staff they need to feed their egos. There's simply no point of enduring the discomfort of a bullying or stupid boss today.

Back away from demands of the ego. It is the ego that wants to be pampered with luxury, that is not content with mere comfort. It is the ego that wants to be lavished with praise.

The quiet counsel of consciousness should prevail over the brash, risk-taking shouts of the ego. Overtaking a stream of traffic that's moving at 65km/h (in a 50km/h zone) on the approach to a pedestrian crossing - an ego heedless of consciousness. Or even bereft of a consciousness. A P-Zombie?

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