Assignment 3- Garrett Uebelhor

Does good and evil really exist? Well the way I see it; yes.  In my mind everyone performs both good and evils acts. That murderer you here about that received the death penalty, how much evils does he contain? Even those who have caused numerous deaths must also have at least committed a single good act, right? What if the person received orders to comply or he himself might die. Must one consider the killing he committed slightly less evil? For instance, what about Nazi Germany’s army men whom got commanded to kill and imprison the Jews?  Perception plays a very big role when it comes to how one sees good and evil.  Most Americans consider the 911 attacks evil, how about dropping atom bombs on Japan. We Americans killed countless more innocent civilians then the 911 attacks did.  Does this make us evil? Through our eyes: No. We justify our actions because we do not desire to recognize our own evils.  Hardly anyone takes action to defend the 911 terrorist’s actions. So doing my best not to sound “un-merican”, when evaluating how many killed, one deems the Americans that dropped the bombs more evil than those terrorists. Through the terrorists along with the Americans eyes they did what their society and culture deemed not evil but righteous.  With these things said it feels only right that I claim we live upon a grey world, one made up of people doing good as well as bad. Yet why does this distinction even exist? Our society creates such distinctions as a way to regulate the behavior of people living within said society. As a result of this regulatory need: Yes, good and evil have to exist.