Bad: something that has negative consequences. Evil: something that you thinks *should* (but didn’t) have negative consequences.
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Within this model evil can have a magnitude, it’s not just Extra Big Badness. Small things like cutting in line can feel evil, snowballing into sharp judgements against individuals or whole groups of people.
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Especially if the normal “punishment” of bad social vibes has no effect. (E.g. foreign tourists)
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The law is limited to how much punishment it can dole out so extreme bad behaviors feels evil b/c there’s no corresponding punishment. E.g. if you feel a murder rapist should get death rather than life in prison. You’ll see residual ‘evil’ that wasn’t cleaned up.
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One aspect of moral development is reducing the maximum of the punishment allowed in your world view. E.g. if slow torture of someone’s entire family feels like an acceptable punishment for some acts, then your moral development is very immature.
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It’s immature rather than perverse b/c it’s something a young child might imagine. Storytellers too. Maturity embraces the previous states. It doesn’t condemn them.
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One of the responsibilities of leadership is to pass punishments of the right magnitude so that evil doesn’t fester or spiral out of control. It’s not for the faint of heart.
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A bad leader punishes wildly. Even if you agree with the ideal, if the punishment role is performed like that of a wild animal, it’s difficult to follow.
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Punishing randomly (out of cluelessness) or not punishing at all are also degenerate behaviors. Evil, and resulting Punisher/Vigilante behavior grows in the shadows.
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To “keep your house in order” means that the aspects of your inner life should be filled with light before you try to increase your territory by fighting more wars.
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If your light is weak, your kingdom of consciousness is full of shadows and hyenas gnawing at your soul.
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The issue with most Sacred Flames is that they’re static. They give off great light but also long shadows the brighter they are. These shadows never see light just as we never see the dark side of the moon.
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Explorers who wander away from the sacred without being prepared often fall into a panic at encountering dark shadows. They sometimes set off wildfires in a desperate attempt to drive the darkness away.
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Sacred Flames are necessary only in a world with darkness. In a world of Eternal Sun (or high efficiency warm tone LED lighting), Sacredness can fall into disuse just like an oil lantern. It becomes a relic or artifact.
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What is lost is the ability to distinguish Shadow and Darkness. Similar in appearance, they are actually opposites. Shadow needs light. Darkness needs the absence of light.
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With shadow you can follow the light. With darkness you are lost. A world with eternal light is the same as a world with endless darkness. In both worlds there is no shadow that points the Way.
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The shadowless eternal night of the great full moon masquerades as heaven. All is laid bare. The vampire, werewolves, and ghosts come out to play.
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End of conversation
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