Happiness is a state of being we endeavor to achieve. It is one of the unalienable rights in the US Declaration of Independence, which recognizes it as given to all humans by their Creator. Whatever strategy you choose to pursue it the aim is for a positive, wholesome way of life. However, some folks never get there. Instead they fester over perceived wrongs and quickly blame others for their failures. I want to focus on what the media nicely labels their “grievances". Are they really legitimate concerns?
Most of their apparent problems center on deep rooted racism mixed in with white, masculine, and a peculiar form of Christian superiority. Oh, these aggrieved religious types can talk scripture but the teachings of Jesus has long been abandoned by them. Unable to psychologically move on from the middle ages towards an ecumenical, joyful, and modern lifestyles, they are inspired by revenge. When a charismatic Republican politician comes along who speaks about retribution, he seems heaven sent. The grievance-filled folks glom on to his presidential campaign, albeit contrived just to please them. Their dear leader is a con artist who sees truth as a disposable commodity. When his “marks” are all in, Donald Trump will swindle them out of their money and their vote. He craves a kind of power to let him do it over and over again.
Certainly, those who commit heinous crimes, or have maliciously plotted and planned to harm others are Evil People. However, over these past 10-years when the Trump protection racket has operated openly, I realized a new fact. There are many, many people who are "Evil-Lite". They form a large constituency of MAGAts. (Make America Great Again trump supporters) On their own they might not be capable of inflicting great bodily harm but collectively they have a high tolerance for a man who goads others to abuse or even kill his perceived enemies. He manipulates his supporters away from the truth with the dark fairytales they want to hear. Not surprisingly, he alone is always the hero. At worst, he instigates brutish behavior his followers relish in. Frankly, I am surprised how many MAGAts are beguiled by him.
Arthur Brooks in an article for The Atlantic titled “The Sociopaths Among Us-And How To Avoid Them” asserts we are “bound to come across the 'Dark Triad' type of malignant narcissists in life—and they can be superficially appealing. . .The term “Dark Triad” was coined by the psychologists Delroy Paulhus and Kevin Williams in 2002 for people with three salient personality characteristics: narcissism, Machiavellianism, and a measurable level of psychopathy.” Brooks goes on to state, “But at least these people are rare, right? Wrong. Dark Triads counted for about one in 14 people in an international population sample, a proportion that means all of us will meet them on a regular basis in love, in work, in politics, and—most obviously—on social media. For the sake of our happiness, well-being, and wallets, we need to understand them, learn how to identify them, and steer clear of them whenever we can—so that we can find better companions instead.” A link to the article is on this website’s Side Street page.
We cannot fool ourselves about the existence of these Evil and Evil-Lite people anymore. Obviously, not every Christian, male, or Republican fall into those two demonic categories and other political parties have bad actors in them too. Back in the days nefarious individuals sheltered under hooded cloaks or functioned in the underworld of crime and underbelly of corruption. Surely times have changed. Now a hard core, convicted criminal openly leads the formerly grand, GOP. Trump and his allies provide permission to the worst of us. We witnessed his failed attempt to seize the US Capital and hold onto power, his fear-mongering, his gazillion lies supported by party leaders, and how he deliberately destroys people’s lives in his wake.
“And the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” - Genesis 6:5. This verse set the stage for the biblical flood which wiped out all living things except those saved by Noah and his family. God made a covenant to never destroy mankind again, as the rainbow reminds us. Nevertheless, wickedness still persists. Evil acts done all the time are at the extreme end of a psycho-sociological continuum that begins with bad minded people who infect our everyday work world with fear, gaslighting, and hate. It invites conflict and the potential for harm, which may lead to crimes committed by those who believe our laws do not apply to them. At the extreme end are intentionally odious and premeditated violent acts. Unlike with bad conduct, it is not easy to forgive evilness. Only when the Truth is admitted by the perpetrator can Reconciliation become possible.
If this is the case, than how do we deal with Evil and the Evil-Lite? I am reminded of the tarot card, The Devil. Generally, it is depicted as a horned being that is half-goat, half-man. It can mean the evil inclination, and violent, revengeful behavior. In my experience evil people do not usually seek tarot readings. Nevertheless, many of my tarot clients have picked the Devil card. In this context it can suggest unwitting involvement in unsavory business practices and relationships with an evil person, or one's creative talent is wasted on selfish, immoral endeavors. It may take a tarot reading to open people's eyes.
In a traditional deck, which is numbered from 0-21, The Devil is the XV or 15th card. However, I prefer the tarot's association to the Hebrew alphabet that goes from 1-22. The Devil card alines with the 16th Hebrew letter, Ayin. Symbolically, she means "eye" as in seeing or vision, and consciousness. It includes the ability to discern and ward off the "evil eye". To learn more check out the Street Smarts page on this website.
The mystery within The Devil card indicates a transformational approach to a more productive, happier way of life. It encourages a person to replace harmful actions with humorous ones. Devilishness can be endearing if you can laugh at yourself while mildly pranking another. Slap-stick, and physical comedy comes to mind. Sit-com writers have a gift of turning anger and tragic events into comedic opportunities. Sometimes canned laughter sets the pace. The Devil’s lesson is to develop a sense of humor. Most importantly, stop tormenting yourself and others. Start laughing.
The Sefer Yetzirah, a classic Kabbalistic text, states that people have 12 foundational qualities which includes: speech, thought, motion, sight, hearing, action, coition, smell, sleep, anger, taste and laughter. Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan notes, “These attributes do not have opposites. They can either be present or absent, but their absence is not the opposite of their presence.” Laughter is an internal tool to remedy anger and repel an evil eye.
Light is a biblical metaphor for consciousness, especially heightened awareness that enables us to discern good from evil. To see clearly gives one the ability to choose wisely. The Devil teaches us to laugh at our dark side and in the face of an evil person. Instead of a defeatist and terrified attitude, humor can inspire a new perspective. It can render evil powerless. I am not addressing the emotion of love, in particular. Although, humor can be a vehicle to express loving kindness. In this vein of thought, at times it is best to not take yourself too seriously either. It’s a good idea to let negative opinions "roll off your back” and better to “pick your battles”.
Of course, this sounds easy to do and is harder to put into practice. Inch by inch we move forward. Be happy and don’t make it complicated. Light, delight! In addition, be careful. Do not overdo it when laughing at someone. Humiliation can affect their sense of pride and be a difficult pill to swallow. If the other person is not capable of self-reflection and more inclined to self-deception, you might kickstart a Dark Triad’s cycle of hate, revenge, and violence.
Comments