Evil - What Must Come From it?

Ever-increasing, ever-worsening

Remember when we were told “this is the new normal” half a decade ago?

We took it to mean that living in fear, wearing masks, forced vaccines, and isolating ourselves from the outside world would be intimate part of our lives. But, after everything that has happened since then, it’s clear that what that really meant was that ever-increasing, ever-worsening evil was (and is) the “new normal”.

The assassination of a husband, father, and decent man: Charlie Kirk — along with the murder of the young Ukrainian woman, Iryna Zarutska — are a sign of the times. It will get worse.

My generation (Gen Z) was the last to get a taste of widespread peace and overall prosperity that, I believe as someone who enjoys reading history, was the first of its kind. But, I also believe that that era of peace was an illusion, we can call it the “great golden illusion”, which created a false utopia and drug people away from reality.

Anyway…

The past has always been a series of “bad timelines” filled with violence. Violence like murder and theft were more intimately understood because many had witnessed it first-hand. On top of that, the idea of violence was ingrained within most cultures.

Not that these cultures admired senseless violence — no, it was that they preached (inadvertently) an important idea, “Violence will come, how will you be prepared for it?”

What can we learn?

Few events have ever solidified the foundational ideas of a people as the old American West did. Cold, hard adventure out into unknown lands — first across the Great Plains, then up and over the Rockies. No doubt, if you were there, you would have faced bears, mountain lions, severe weather, infections, diseases, Comanches, possible starvation and dehydration…and you would have had the responsibility of bringing your family through it all.

Who would endure such brutal conditions?

Americans. People who were compelled by their own nature to seek something beyond themselves even if it meant death. People who possessed a virtue from which many others flowed: Dignity. They would say, “Yeah, it’ll be tough and I know I’m gonna suffer, but that’s okay. There’s things I have to do and places I’ve gotta be. I’m going to do what I have to do — and do it well — no matter what you tell me.”

Many were well-intentioned, good-hearted, family-oriented people seeking to go out into the world and create a better life for themselves. Heading west, these Americans had no choice but to confront the violence that nature (or other people) brought against them.

If you’re traveling in a string of family wagons and see a war party on the horizon you had no option but to load your rifle, grab your knife, and prepare to end that which threatens your life and the lives of those you love.

History is violence. Anyone who says otherwise is lying to you.

What matters is whether or not you are prepared to confront it when it comes knocking on your door. At some point it will. Charlie Kirk’s assassination is a wakeup call. A well-intentioned and mostly reasonable man was brutally executed in front of his family. When the gunshot rang off, Charlie’s daughter was so scared by the sound that she started running to her now dying father for comfort.

That is Comanche-level evil. There’s a reason why many years and the efforts of many men (including a Texas Ranger ancestor of mine) were put to ridding the world of people who thought it “good” to murder an innocent father in front of his family (though the Comanches would have done more than that).

The Comanches were wiped off the map? Good. When good men are confronted directly with evil they should have the ability to use violence to end the threat.

What must come from this?

Charlie Kirk and Iryna Zarutska were relatively normal people. Iryna is your mother, your sister, your wife. Charlie is you, your father, your brother.

The difference between now and 1830s America is that you not only have strange people who would find joy in killing you, but you also have a huge majority of world powers who allow (and even support) deranged freaks. Actually, most of those world powers are deranged freaks who’d prefer you not exist.

Infections, disease, and attacks from indians aren’t an everyday occurrence — and we are lucky for not having to deal with that. What we do have to deal with are people motivated by truly evil forces, people that don’t find joy in a child’s birth but smile with glee when a father is killed, people that want to bring suffering to others, people that don’t believe there is anything of major meaning or importance in life.

They not only toss out virtue, but want to see it stomped from existence.

Knowing this, you should always be steady and, if we are measuring your level of violence from 0-100, it should always be at 0 until you’re directly confronted with something in your own life which warrants the immediate jump to 100.

But, you have to have the ability to be physically violent so that you can rise to the occasion if, God forbid, the time comes to use it. Train boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, or Brazilian jui-jitsu (a combination would be best) and be proficient with a rifle, pistol, and shotgun.

Remember, a good man is not a harmless man. A good man is capable of ruthless violence, but never does so unless absolutely necessary.

The “golden illusion” of widespread peace and prosperity is over. Charlie and Iryna’s murders made that obvious. There is a silver lining to these terrible events though because they reorient us to what actually matters: virtue, family, capability, and becoming a truly good man (for your own sake and the world’s sake).

Reality is here. You’ve just been slapped in the face. Now decide what you’re going to do with it.

-Maxim Benjamin Smith