This course has brought the prime motivations of evil to light, which seem to be routed in individual and political greed. In several instances, the Heart of Darkness and the extermination of the Native American population have shown me how the “best” civilization degrades itself to becoming the worst civilization. There are several instances in American history, as well as world history, where civilizations conquer others and subjugate their societies because they are inferior. This is a trend that happens on the larger political and social scales, but also goes down to the individual level. In order to go along with such a campaign, the individual has to rationalize his or her behavior first. Often, the social and economic status of the nation at the moment influences the individual’s perspective. A person who would benefit economically and socially from fighting the evil will generally fight, but a person who will not benefit will generally not fight. These motivations, both on the individual level and on the social level, have brought about evils themselves and the solutions to evils. The real root of evil seems to be greed, the basic necessity to want what someone else has.

The attacks of September 11th seem to be fueled by the greed of the individuals who make up the Al Queda network. They would not benefit spiritually or economically through negotiation; however, as martyrs they motivate an entire society to war. One man’s passion to avenge the treatment he received from the United States has led to an all out war.

The issue in Israel and Palestine seems to be motivated solely on the social level. These two groups of people have never gotten along and will continued to fight each other. The meaning of the fighting of the two groups has been lost to antiquity. Thus, the fighting transcends the personal level and is engulfed in the socialization of the nations. These is no more individual motivation for the Israelites and the Palestinians to fight one another, but rather their entire fight is based on stereotypes and religious dogma that benefits neither side.

The evil that exists at Guantanamo Bay I believe is the most profound in terms of affecting a large group on a personal level. Here, we have people who are motivated personally to torture people who were never given a chance to defend themselves. The effects of that torture also affect the American public on the individual level, suspending habeas corpus and making the average American vulnerable to the government. Furthermore, the captives held at Guantanamo Bay continue to be held there because of the personal vendetta of the President of the United States to prove that his cause for the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan was justified.

I truly believe that the root of evil, either on the personal, social, or political level, revolves around greed. These motivations for evil are always rationalized by those committing them, either through some distorted logic or through the grandfather system. The terror attacks of September 11th and the holding of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay are examples of personal motivations of evil, where people look to benefit personally from their evil doings. The Israeli-Palestinian fight has continued for so long that it no longer has an individual motivation, only a social motivation to take the other group. However, in all these instances, one party is jealous of the possessions of the other party, either it be money, land, oil, or personal convictions.