Good and Evil (that was a clever title)

Good and evil are not rigid terms. They are not as easily defined as they are in books and movies. The good guy isn't always nice and the evil guy isn't always mean. Good and evil are a matter of perspective. No one considers themselves to be evil; everyone wants to be the good guy or the hero. What you consider to be right you think is good and what you consider to be wrong you think is evil. As part of human nature, nobody considers their morals to be wrong, they assume they are good. Take, for instance, Al Qaeda. They believe that America is embodiment of Satan sent to destroy the world and that they are the liberators of God. In this instance, Al Qaeda considers themselves as good and America as evil. But here in America, Al Qaeda is considered to be evil and we are the good guys.

Now some people say, "Ok, but you can also define good and evil as whether the ends justify the means." Not necessarily because believe or not Al Qaeda and America both believe in certain means that justify certain ends. Both sides shoot and kill people to vanquish their enemy and both sides are willing to die for what they believe in.

But now the question is, "Why do we consider Al Qaeda to be evil and vice versa when we both hold the same values?" Once again, the answer comes back to human nature. We, as human beings, tend to label other people as good or evil based on their actions toward us. If a person gives us a piece of candy, they are good. But, if a person punches us in the face, they are evil. We label Al Qaeda as evil since they took the lives of loved ones and Al Qaeda labels us as evil since we have taken the lives of their loved ones.

We don't even define good and evil with rational thought. To us, it doesn't matter if the person who gave the piece of candy stole it; they are still good. It doesn't matter if the person who punched you saved a baby from a fire; they are still evil. So really, the question of good and evil is answered with simple human psychology and how well different people treat us.