Saturday, June 7, 2008

Necessary Evils

Is there such a thing? The concept of a necessary evil has always baffled me. I know I sometimes feel that way when having to pay huge amounts (for me) of taxes. But when I look at what our tax dollars provide us with, I am sometimes relieved that there is that fund for things like highways and schools and disaster relief. Then I think about military weapons and I change my mind. Then I think about military invasion....suddenly the weapons don't seem like such a bad idea.

I have heard people use the expression "necessary evil" in regards to things like menstrual cycles, family reunions, work etc. I can't see the evil part of any of these. We always have choice when it comes to obligations, and we could always do what we love to do for work instead of what we "have" to do. And when it comes to the whole moon cycle thing that women go through (and this comes from a man who remembers being a woman in several past lives), what the heck is the big deal??? It is only nature. It is not evil or dirty in any way, contrary to what most fundamentalist philosophies would have you believe.

So is there such a thing as a necessary evil? I don't know. I guess that I have not had to face one yet. Oh, ya. University. But that is even an option. Hmmm.

Blessed Be
Trent

1 comment:

Gail said...

That expression has been around forever it seems. I remember hearing my mother use it, but I never really stopped to think what exactly she was saying. I don't think there is such a thing as a necessary evil, but perhaps the one who coined the phrase was havin' a blast at a party and then realized the next day that he had to "pay the piper" by cleaning up the mess after everyone had had such a great time the night before. So I suppose that, when you're having a great time, the "necessary evil" part comes into play when you have to do the not so fun stuff, like clean up the mess afterwards.
Our language sure is strange sometimes...