The Charleston Shooting Is A Reminder That Man Is Not Inherently Good

The country is still in shock after the mass murder of nine worshippers at a African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina. The Charleston shooting shakes us at our very core because these victims were truly innocent. The shooter, a 21 year old racist punk, specifically targeted the church because it was a black church.

This monster still went through with the shooting despite the fact the people at the church were “nice” according to a media report. He went to that church intending to kill people.

Many of the usual chattering heads have speculated he was “mentally ill.” But that’s hard to believe. He rationally thought out the attack and acquired the firearms to do it. I find it hard to believe we’re dealing with a “mentally ill” person as opposed to an evil one.

Many times, we’re quick to dismiss those who commit murder and other terrible acts as “mentally ill.” As a society we literally cannot comprehend someone doing such a thing. We have forgotten that evil exists and that people are not inherently good.

As a species, we continue to think we have evolved past the mere primitive notion that violence solves issues. We believe that in this culture of lawyers, contracts, and instant communication that we have evolved past violence. That’s an absurd analysis.

A modern Germany exterminated tens of millions between 1933-45. The Balkans, before they exploded in their wars of extermination in the 1990s, were a mostly developed region. The massive oil wealth of the Middle East hasn’t stopped that region of the world from having their own religious and ethnic conflicts. If wealth and technological progress are measures of civilization, then I would hate to see what is uncivilized.

Man is a fallen creature and capable of both good and evil. It’s best to view humanity through that lens. We should be wary of attempts to make men “better.” Mass graves from France to Russia to Cambodia are a testament to that fallacy.

There are only two approaches to dealing with evil. You either deter it or you destroy it. You can deter evil by making the consequences of doing their deed so high that is not worth it. You can also destroy an evil person when they act. However, we should not kid ourselves and believe we can “eradicate” evil from the world.

This piece doesn’t have any ideas on how to end racism (short answer you won’t) or what kind of gun control could stop this (short answer not much). Instead what we can do is not be blind to the reality of man. Instead of providing ourselves with the false comfort that people are inherently good, we should open our eyes to the fact that man is capable of both great and evil deeds.

Only by acknowledging the truth in ourselves can we move forward with discussions how to prevent future atrocities like this.

I’m one of the original co-founders of The Liberty Papers all the way back in 2005. Since then, I wound up doing this blogging thing professionally. Now I’m running the site now. You can find my other work at The Hayride.com and Rare. You can also find me over at the R Street Institute.