Evil

In the past 30 to 50 years, there has been a growing interest in the moral, legal and philosophical definition of evil. Evil generally refers to a negative state. For the purposes of this column (and with your indulgence), let us find the definition of evil as it pertains to the injustices being perpetrated and perpetuated in Philippine sports.

According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, there is a broad definition of evil and a narrow definition of evil. The broad definition of evil is divided into two: natural evil and moral evil. Both are generally believed to be in the context of belief in (or questioning of) a higher power. Natural evil refers to anything from a natural disaster like an earthquake or something as mundane as a toothache. It refers to events or states that we appear to have no control over.

Moral evil relies on agents to perpetrate. In some belief systems, only human beings are considered capable of moral evil, as their consciousness allows for judgment over what is right and wrong. Norwegian philosopher Lars Svendsen also wrote about idealistic evil and instrumental evil. Idealistic evil consists of acts committed in pursuit of certain beliefs, as Adolf Hitler did with his horrendous ethnic cleansing. Instrumental evil, meanwhile, is, as he says, “evil that occurs to carry out some other purpose”.

We may be onto something.

In more contemporary definitions of evil, there are 12 qualities of evil persons, though on a relatively lower, more social scale. The first three of the qualities on the list are denying reality, fact-twisting and hiding information. As mentioned in Saturday’s column, the disenfranchisement of certain National Sports Associations in the past 10 years has been met with those three actions by the perpetrators or conspirators. Their legitimacy is denied, the circumstances have been twisted, and the falsehoods behind the conspiracy glossed over or ignored.

Three other traits of modern evil are misleading people, constant lying and showing no remorse. The deception and reinforcement of offenses in some of these cases smack of all three. Eventually, untangling all the lies becomes a chore, until you reach the root of all the lies. As we have been saying time and again, some NSAs have clearly established their legitimacy, yet are not (or no longer are) in the Philippine Olympic Committee, even those who would only be associate members, at best.

Next, modern evil showcases manipulation of people, avoiding responsibility and being fair-weather friends. Without speculating, we can go back to the reversal of fortunes in the last POC election, and the ensuing events. There have only been two POC General Assemblies (less chance to question things, one would suppose). There is little or no news on the status of new applicants for membership, even those who have submitted all mandated requirements. Makes one wonder what is going on behind the scenes.

Lastly, we have the trio of preventing other people’s success, leading double lives and being control freaks. These are pretty self-explanatory, and dovetail with the previous nine. Having your way at someone else’s expense pretty much sums up most – if not all of – the 12 traits.

While we can have sympathy for those in the POC whose hands were tied by the previous administration, coming to power by virtue of numbers is not a license to do the same to others. And if your previous boss was megalomaniacal, your fear of a repeat doesn’t mean (or desire for power) you should make your current leader weaker.

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

Heaven forbid.