Evil Flourishes – Wise Words Wednesday

So many are unhappy with our choices in the upcoming elections.

I understand.

I am unhappy with the ugliness that has become our electoral process.

I guess I can’t be unhappy about my choices. At least someone stepped up to run for government.

Some of my students asked me why “good people” don’t run for office. I told them because “good people” do not want to expose their loved ones and themselves to the brutality of our election process. I could not explain why “good people” should be afraid of this process, but in my heart I knew the real ugliness could be found somewhere in the truth behind Edmund Burke’s quote:

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

There are many verses in the Christian Bible that allude to sentiments similar to Mr. Burke’s. From a young age, we teach our children to speak up when someone is doing something that is not right. We preach and beat our chests in indignation when crimes are committed against humanity. We demand that fund-raisers and government agencies rain down immediate relief to the suffering. BUT…

Who wants to be in charge of regulating those relief agencies? Who wants to be the one to bear the burden of a suffering nation? Who has the backbone to say, “Here is what we need to do. It’s not gonna make everybody happy, but we can’t all be happy all the time.”? Who is willing to forgo political correctness so that truth can be spoken in spite of sensitive egos? Who is willing to serve because they do not want to see evil prevail?

Clearly, I do not have all the answers (or my entire last paragraph would not have been questions), but what I do have is the power to pray for strong and just leaders. I do have the power to vote my conscience and encourage others to do the same.

In grade school, they always told us you should not complain about the government unless you vote. This ideology has merit to it. We should not complain, if we are not ready and willing to take some sort of action.

Time moves so quickly. Don’t hesitate. If you find yourself compelled to make change happen, step up. Make your position known. Be a leader in your own community, state, or the nation. Find a way to stop evil.

I can’t tell you who to vote for. I can’t tell you where our nation’s next challenges will arise. I can tell you that if we don’t vote and if we fail to come together to support our leaders, those challenges are going to have a lot more evil behind them and it is going to take many more “good people” to step up and fight than if we make a stand today.

Put your energy and intent into being a good and just leader for those around you. Don’t give evil room to grow. Stand up to injustice and indifference.

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

By: Melanie A. Peters

P.S. I am, Melanie A. Peters, and I approve this message.