by David D. Horowitz
To attribute evil to the existence and actions of The Devil implies a simplistic view of evil. I do not believe evil is simple or easily located. It is often sly, deceptive—and here talk of the devil as a sneak makes more sense. Evil often cloaks itself in the appearances of goodness. Courtesy and generosity can be mimed. Messy sincerity persists, though, and suffocates when denied. Phoniness, then, might be The Devil’s first cousin.
“I’m doing this for the community” is a line I often hear from people whose actions suggest less sacrifice than desire for fame, approval, pleasure, and money. They publicize ostensibly noble intentions from fear of being judged selfish. Such people think “good” people “care about others” and are embarrassed by how much insecurity, jealousy, and egotism mix with their presumably nobler motivations.
Yes, it is good to cultivate empathetic awareness of others’ suffering. Yes, it is good under certain circumstances to offer charitable donations to responsible organizations to help relieve such suffering. It is not good, however, to publicize phony motivations. While I do not advocate burdening friends with constant revelations of self-interest, I do advocate basic honesty about it. First, a degree of self-interest can be healthy. Generally, an individual understands his or her circumstances better than other people do, and the freedom to act from that knowledge is a cornerstone of happiness. Second, to surmount excess of self-focus and, or greed, one must first acknowledge one indulges such excess. Feigning communitarian motivation for fear of rejection by a politically correct peer group is not goodness. While not the ultimate Evil, it nevertheless breeds further self-deception, unfair rejection of others, and fear of perceptive, honest people.
Let us try to find a healthy mean between self-interest and generosity based on sincerely recognized needs of others. Strength and sympathy can co-exist. Grappling with genuine motivations and struggling to articulate a mean between self-interest and sympathy for others—this might expose The Devil’s duplicity while promoting loving tolerance of human complexity. Rather than insincerely renounce self-interest, we might balance our self-interest with that of others. In the beloved community, negotiation happens.