Out of Bounds

The crime dramas that fill the schedule of evening TV are well crafted studies of people doing horrific things. We don't need fiction, however, to tell us that people are capable of great evil. The news outlets, particularly lately, carry stories of real life violence that are every bit as gruesome as what the best screen writers can produce.

When I hear these accounts or read historical records of cruelty and brutality, I am tempted to give up my view that people are good. The evidence is all too clear that we can't count on all people to behave rationally or kindly.

However, I think that the operative word here is all people. By far, most of the people we encounter are nothing to be afraid of and we do society a disservice if we see rapists and murderers waiting around every corner. This kind of distrust creates an atmosphere that encourages the very thing we fear: a lack of love in our relationships with others.

When people feel threatened or abandoned, disliked or disrespected, the desire to relate well to others disappears. This is as true of our neighbor nations on this planet as it is of the gang member or criminal. This is a situation that is under our control. It is the attitude of the trying-to-be-good people that determines the kind of society we live in, not that of the sour grapes in the bunch. There are more of us than there are of them.

I think that the antisocial behavior in our midst will flourish if we continue to create the kind of conditions that encourage it. If someone has enough anger against a perceived enemy, then cruelty will seem justified. Our job is to value each person so much that this kind of anger doesn't have a chance to grow.

This is an extraordinary task because, though environment plays a large role in antisocial behavior, it does not account for everything. DNA researchers have found that variations of a particular gene are related to aggressive behavior in men. Only large doses of love and early therapeutic guidance can mitigate an inborn tendency.

So far, not enough research has been done on the so-called "warrior gene." Its influence must spark a deep discussion among all societies, given the implications for our approaches to punishment, rehabilitation and beliefs about the nature of humankind.

To some, preemptive strikes against those with the suspect variation might seem tempting, but we must make sure that the rights of individuals or whole ethnic groups aren't taken away simply because of the possibility that he or she might one day be out of bounds. This discovery should, however, put to rest the idea that all of us are born evil. Some of us simply are born more aggressive than others.

In the most satisfying of TV crime shows, the perp is found, sentenced to a long prison term and the cops celebrate with a beer and a cheer. In reality, we know that courtrooms are sometimes unjust, jail is a revolving door and the situations that fostered antisocial attitudes are there waiting for the ex-con to return. We can live in fear of this reality or create a new one by fixing the problems in our relationships and economic conditions that awaken desires for domination or revenge in anyone, warrior or not.

This sounds difficult, but I like the idea that I can do something about the headlines and not just wring my hands in desperate fear.

The Root of All Evil

The Scripture says that the love of money is the root of all evil. It has struck me recently that money certainly plays a part, but that its pursuit has a deeper base: the fear of being without it. It is what money can save us from that is its attraction and why it becomes the focus of so much prayer and effort. Poverty, hunger, inconvenience and ill health are all alleviated by money and so the desire for it has the potential of squashing a concern for others and ruining relationships.

In actuality though, it is fear, not the love of money, that is at  the root of all evil. Abraham Maslow constructed his Hierarchy of Needs in 1943 as a way of explaining human motivation. Fear pervades each rung. Our most basic needs are bodily - food, water and sleep. Until these are met, people are a threat because they stand in the way of our own existence. We want to alleviate the fear of our own imminent death.

The next step in the hierarchy is our need for Safety. We cannot enjoy what we have until we are sure that we will not be harmed in the process of enjoying it. Once that is accomplished, there is a need for Love and Belonging. We fear being alone. After people are welcomed into our lives, there is a need for their Esteem. We fear being abandoned.

Finally, there is what he called Self Actualization which is our quest for knowledge and personal achievement. This is closely related to the need to be seen as worthwhile, but this need also relates to our desire to feel equipped to handle all the dangers that might come at us in life.

Thus, fear is the driver behind our needs and fear is the explanation of the behaviors that mar our relationships. Fear is misery, not iniquity. Fear needs healing, not judgment.

Genesis tells us that Adam and Eve hid from God because they were afraid. St. John's gospel tells us that God is the answer to our fears, not their punisher: "Perfect love casts out fear." Where God is, there is no room for fear. God's light outshines any darkness. So, if we are afraid, it is because we are not letting God into the problem.

 Likewise, our quest to become more perfect lovers ourselves will be more successful if we put aside our fear of others and see the God within them instead. Jesus said the Law could be summed up in two sentences: Love God. Love your neighbor. What He also said makes the first two possible: Fear not.