Good day Steemians.
Many thoughts going on in my head. Who drew the line between Good and Bad? What is Good and what is Bad? Who told us that certain actions are Good, certain actions are Bad.
This are questions begging for answers. If we are to list all the good actions, we will spend the whole day writing them down, same applies to the bad actions.
Source
This Article will be in 3 parts. The first one will look at the Good and Bad from the Worldly perspective. while the other 2 will look at Good and Bad from the Cultural and Religion perspective.
This will bring us to the definition of Good and Bad.
According to dictionary.com
Good is defined as
- morally excellent; virtuous; righteous; pious:
- satisfactory in quality, quantity, or degree:
- of high quality; excellent.
- right; proper; fit:
- well-behaved:
- kind, beneficent, or friendly:
- honorable or worthy; in good standing:
- genuine; not counterfeit:
- reliable; dependable; responsible:
- in excellent condition; healthy:
- not spoiled or tainted; edible; palatable:
- agreeable; pleasant:
- socially proper:
- moral righteousness; virtue: Source
You can see Good has many definitions. Each definition can be used in different context. Now let us look at the definition of Bad
According to Dictionary.com
Bad is defined as
- not good in any manner or degree.
- having a wicked or evil character; morally reprehensible:
- of poor or inferior quality; defective; deficient:
- inadequate or below standard; not satisfactory for use:
- inaccurate, incorrect, or faulty:
- invalid, unsound, or false:
- tainted, spoiled, or rotten, especially to the point of being inedible:
- easily provoked to anger; irascible:
- disobedient, naughty, or misbehaving:
- disreputable or dishonorable:
- not in keeping with a standard of behavior or conduct; coarse:
- counterfeit; not genuine:
- having the character of a villain; villainous:
- a bad condition, character, or quality: Source
Bad definition above basically means something undesirable.
I often say If I am given the opportunity to interview anybody either dead or alive, I will interview Nelson Mandela and Adolf Hitler.
2 contrasting figures you will say.
Yes, I want to know what is going on in their heads for their actions.
Nelson Mandela a actions were solely on fighting Apartheid and tackling racism in his country South Africa. That makes him a good man by that definition of Good.
Source
Adolf Hitler wanted to make Germany great, he saw the Jews as enemy of the German people, so sought to eradicate them. He started World War II all for the good of his country. I would label him good based on the definition of Good. Why Label him Bad?
Let us look at another example. Cocaine is illegal and you can be jailed for being in possession of it in most countries, thus it is Bad. There are some countries that support possession and usage of cocaine to some extents, countries like Peru, Colombia, and Mexico support cocaine, thus making it Good in this countries.
What if the whole world legalise cocaine, methamphetamine, then they are good. The new generation of kids will see them as something good and indulge in it.
From the above examples, it is clear that the line between Good and Bad was drawn by those in power, the authorities. They are the one that created the definitions, and can bend it anytime.
Nelson Mandela fought to eradicate apartheid which is a good cause according to him, but the south Africa authorities then thought otherwise, they believed it is a Bad cause, and jailed him.
Adolf Hitler also believed in fighting for the German people was a good cause, but other world powers believe it was a bad cause.
This shows that the determinants or Good or Bad lies in the hands of those in authority. They drew the line. Any changes made by them will reflect in the definition or the world stance of Good or Bad. If they decide to start rewarding Dishonesty, Bad behavior, in the next couple of years people will see this as something Good and uphold it.
This article is solely my opinion, you are free to add yours
The second part will talk on the cultural perspective of Good and Bad
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