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Can Goodness Win?August 2005From the Desk of Rabbi CohonThe recent terror attacks in London remind us—as if we needed the reminder—of the constant presence of evil in our world. But they also demonstrate that evil always has a certain advantage over good in our society, because our understanding of the nature of goodness is that we seek, always, to redeem even those who are unredeemable. In the face of real evil, conscience is actually a handicap. The well-coordinated attacks this time took place in Britain, instead of in New York or Tel Aviv or Madrid, which highlights the international nature of the current Islamic terrorist underground. It also demonstrates, yet again, that our real war now is not the protracted, frustrated occupation of Iraq but the search and destroy mission aimed at the terrorist infrastructure of Al-Quaeda, and the broader ultra-violent Islamic extremist movements worldwide and their financial sponsors. Even more important, in the wake of 9/11, the Madrid subway assaults, and the London bombings there is now widespread agreement that terrorism is beyond the pale of normal human expressions of resistance, and that the random killing of innocents on buses, in subways, and in marketplaces is not a political act but an immoral one. Terrorism is, in every case, morally wrong. But because we are people of conscience, who try to act rationally and more or less with restraint, we tend to seek explanations for why others do not. Those explanations—domestic political repression, poverty, religious passion—help us rationalize the irrational, and aid those who are genuinely committed to evil to succeed. Sigmund Freud explained that the person with a conscience learns to repress his own most destructive impulses—and so fails to see it in others. Conscience alerts us to minor evils in others and ourselves, but it also blinds us to massive evil in others. This is why political battles tend to be fought over small violations of relatively minor regulations, while larger corruption and morally reprehensible policies slip below the radar. Conscientious people give others the benefit of the doubt, always—even when they have proven they do not deserve it. The tendency, when faced with the conundrum of how our own consciences limit our ability to destroy those who are truly evil, is to abandon conscience entirely. There are always those who say that conscience is a luxury in a dangerous world, particularly during wartime—and somehow, there is always a war. But Judaism teaches us differently. We are taught that we must retain our essential belief in goodness, and preserve our commitment to conscience. Our task, our greatest challenge, is to respond to true evil with decision and consistency, while retaining the pragmatic nature of our idealism. We must be both decisive in our response to evil and firmly committed to creating holiness and respect in the world. The world is established on three things, Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel teaches us in Pirkei Avot: on justice, on truth, and on peace. First we must seek justice for those who were killed and wounded. Then we must be truthful about what the killers and their sponsors represent, and how they must be stopped. And then we must work, with at least as much passion and energy and focus, to build peace in this world. And then goodness can, and will, win.
L'shalom v'rei'ut, in peace and friendship, Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon
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