Quotations On Opposing Evil

“He who does not oppose evil……commands it to be done.”

                                                                         Leonardo Da Vinci

studio of Sir Joshua Reynolds, oil on canvas, (1767-1769)

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

                                                                      Edmund Burke

“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”

                                                                 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“The oppression of people anywhere is an injustice to all of humanity, and it must be opposed. We need to speak out and have our voices be heard. This is not a time for silence.”

                                                                    Charles F. French

Enough Is Enough!

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Edmund Burke

How many mass shootings will occur before we do something about it? Once again, a horrible shooting took place today in El Paso, Texas. The numbers that I have seen on television reporting are at least 19 dead and over 40 wounded. Once again, this horror occurs in America. Once again, we can expect those politicians who are in the control of the NRA to offer “thoughts and prayers.” Once again, we, as a nation, need to demand action.

Once again, we need to say in one voice, “Enough is enough!”

This is a uniquely American tragedy, not that it cannot happen in other countries, but the sheer numbers of incidents that do occur here make it part of the fabric of our nation.

We must not allow this to be normal, to hear it, be upset, and then just move on. This is wrong, this is evil, and this must not continue. The majority of Americans want some form of gun control. We must not simply want it. We must demand it. We must tell politicians that if they do not take action on gun control, we will vote them out of office. We must demand that they stand up to the corporate gun lobby and the NRA. We must demand that they understand and recognize human lives matter more than the sale of guns no one should have.

“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

Elie Wiesel

Let us speak out. Vote. Let your voices be heard.

Quotations on History

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“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”

                                                                         George Orwell

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“Study the past if you would define the future.”

                                                                        Confucius

 

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“Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.”

                                                                        Edmund Burke

Response to Evil: Revisited

Edmund Burke said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” This issue is one of the central themes of my horror novels Maledicus: Investigative Paranormal Society Book I  and Gallows Hill: The Investigative Paranormal Society, Book 2 and is also one of the main issues that has faced humanity in the last one hundred years. From the consequences of millions slain in the Holocaust to one single person murdered on the streets of New York City while many watched and did nothing, humanity has been confronted with this dilemma. We see brutality, oppression, and bigotry towards others on an almost daily basis. When finding evil threatening others, what do we do? Do we ignore it and pretend that it is not there? Do we call authorities to try to handle the situation and hope they arrive in time? Or do we inject ourselves into situations that for both individuals and nations could be filled with the worst kind of danger?

It does not take much effort to find contemporary examples of such circumstances. In all of these situations, the observers are faced with a moral quandary, and in my novels, it is those circumstances which drive the central conflicts. What do three retired gentlemen who are trying to find the answer to the ancient question—is there life after death?—do when they are confronted with a sociopathic supernatural evil that threatens an innocent? It would be easy for them to turn aside and say—this isn’t our fight, or this doesn’t concern me.

These three retired gentlemen do decide to fight this evil, even at the potential cost of their lives and perhaps souls.

In our cynical so-called post-modern world, I feel that I am a bit of a dinosaur, because I am an unapologetic Humanist. I still believe that our connections as people are more important than that which disconnects us. My three central characters believe this ideal also. Hence, they understand Donne’s admonition—“Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” And they understand that whatever threatens an innocent must be opposed.

Gallows Hill can be found here in ebook.

Gallows Hill in paperback can be found here.

An interview about Gallows Hill can be found here.

Please follow the following links to find my novel:

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Thank you!

The book trailer:

Maledicus:Investigative Paranormal Society Book I

My radio interview:

interview

 

Available on Amazon

Quotations on Standing Up to Evil

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(Painting by Joshua Reynolds)

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

                                                                          Edmund Burke

 

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“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it–always.”

                                                                  Mahatma Gandhi

 

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“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

                                                                 Martin Luther King Jr.

Quotations on History

(https://en.wikipedia.org)

“If you don’t know history, then you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree. ”

                                                                         Michael Crichton

 

(https://en.wikipedia.org)

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”

                                                                        George Orwell

 

(https://en.wikipedia.org)

“Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.”

                                                                        Edmund Burke

 

Quotations on Courage

I have focused on this theme before, but I believe it is always important.

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“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”    Edmund Burke

While today, we would say people instead of men, the importance of  the message remains. When evil or the potential for it exists, it must be opposed.

 

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“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.”     Albert Einstein

Both men from very different times and different political and social backgrounds give a moral imperative to people to stand up to evil, that it cannot and should not be ignored.