Evil

It's all evil: murder, rape, theft, littering, loitering. It's all evil: smoking, international fraud, globalisation.

There's carbon footprints and identity theft, paedophilia and racism, sexism, ageism. War - that's evil too - and pulling the legs off insects. Eating too much. Being rude about Islam. Being too openly religious; not being religious enough. Binge drinking. Extremism. Fundamentalism.

Did you know, every time a child drops a crisp packet, it causes a tsunami in the third world? Did you know, last time you made a cup of coffee, not only were you giving yourself cancer, you were torturing South American farmers and melting the polar ice? How does that make you feel? To know that you are directly responsible for the drowning of the last cuddly, white bear?

How can you live with yourself?

You must be a terrorist. Or a pervert.

I hope you feel that weight of responsibility, that guilt and pressure to ensure that every minute decision of your life is perfect and hurting nobody. I hope you feel that crushing fear that the world is going to die and it is all your fault.

No, no, no. This is all wrong. You aren't evil.

You know what's evil? People and organisations and systems spreading guilt and fear because it makes money or wins elections, or simply because it is easy, exploiting those who should be supported and guided. That's where all this evil comes from.

And what's really stupid? We lump it all together. Actually, there are problems - large and small - which we, as a species, could do something to remedy, but there is not one big problem with one big solution. The world is more complex than that. Yet every time there is a political summit, all the banners get waved. Our media bombard us with problems, one after another. Issues get confused. Campaigning and protesting loses its clout.

The very notion of evil is a lie. There are problems - difficult problems - and they need careful consideration by intelligent people who actually understand the issues. The media can create a gradual cultural shift and popular pressure which might help in some instances, but coverage which is high in drama and light in detail encourages governments to make quick, crowd pleasing fixes, which may do more damage in the long term.

If we genuinely hope to make the world a better place, we should stop worrying about the evils beyond our control, and really focus on things we can change, starting with the little things that really matter: in our work, around our home towns, for our friends.