by Marty Coleman | Mar 9, 2017 | Blaise Pascal, Evil - 2017 |
Let’s consider the history of the world, shall we? What is it filled with? Good people doing terrible things. Why are they doing these terrible things? Because they don’t think they are terrible. They think they are good.
The WORST of these violators think what they are doing is good because their conscience says so. Their conscience might be in the form of GOD telling them to slaughter entire tribes. Or maybe it’s their conscience telling them it’s their superiority in intelligence or religiosity or genetics, etc. that allows them to enslave and colonize entire continents. Maybe their conscience tells them their physical strength gives them the right to own women and make them do what they want. Maybe their conscience tells them their wealth proves their worthiness to be in control over others and those others who are poor deserve their fate.
How do you avoid letting your conscience lead you astray into evil? For me, it’s by having a rules of behavior and thinking that guard against it.
Here are four actions that I practice remembering:
- Being kind is more important than being right.
- Knowing something to be true too quickly is not to be trusted.
- Seeing the issue from the person who could be hurt’s point of view is essential.
- Causing harm to a specific group of people is not my conscience acting, but my ego and my fear.
What actions do you take?
Drawing and Commentary © 2017 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
“Men never do evil so fully and so happily as when they do it for conscience’s sake.” – Blaise Pascal, 1623-1662, French scientist and philosopher
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by Marty Coleman | May 5, 2014 | Being Alone - 2014, Blaise Pascal, Frederic Dard, Julien De Valckenaere, Marilyn Monroe, Martin Luther |
Hello Napkin Kin! Have you been wondering all weekend what the theme of last week’s ‘Unnamed Series’ is? Well, wait no longer, here is the answer: Being Alone
I started it because a dear friend of mine who is going through a divorce is now living on her own in a condo. She is learning how to be alone for the first time in many years. It’s hard enough to be alone when things are going right, but when your world has imploded and all seems lost, being alone can be devastating. These drawing and quotes were a result of my exploration of the idea of ‘being alone’.
Here they are from first to last, with the quotes written in.
Being Alone #1 – from the series formerly known as ‘Unnamed’
Being Alone #2 – from the series formerly known as ‘Unnamed’
Being Alone #3 – from the series formerly known as ‘Unnamed’
Being Alone #4 – from the series formerly known as ‘Unnamed’
Being Alone #5 – from the series formerly known as ‘Unnamed’
So, now that you know, what do you think? Do the drawings make sense now? Do the quotes fit the drawings? Come on, let me know. I want to do another series like this, it was a lot of fun and there was more than average interaction with the Napkin Kin and your feedback will help make the next series even better.
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Drawings by Marty Coleman
Quotes by the following:
#1 – Frederic Dard, 1921-2000, French author
#2 – Julien De Valckenaere, 1898-1958, Dutch writer
#3 – Martin Luther, 1483-1546, German monk, religious rabble rouser
#4 – Marilyn Monroe, 1926-1962, American actress
#5 – Blaise Pascal, 1623-1662, French mathematician and philosopher
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by Marty Coleman | Mar 4, 2011 | Blaise Pascal |
What walls have you put up in front of your gravest dangers today? Are you now running headlong towards that danger because you have persuaded yourself it isn’t there anymore?
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Quote by Blaise Pascal, 1623-1662, French writer, inventor, mathematician, philosopher and scientist
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A thankful shout out to the Napkin Kin who have visited this week from the cities and towns of the state of Texas, USA. Waco (home of Baylor University and the awesome women of the Theta Mansion), Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Temple, The Colony, Stephenville, Universal City, Ft. Worth, Frisco, Little Elm, Bellaire and last but not least, Katy, home of my loyal reader, friend and Tulsa ex-patriot, Brett M.!
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