Evil Sure Gets a Lot of Press for Being Banal

There’s “the banality of evil” but is it really so banal?  The story of the fall of Rome is more interesting, in some ways, than its rise. It certainly gets more published books. 

Listened to Oath Keeper’s Stewart Rhodes on Conservative Daily podcast. He’s one of the political prisoners in the D.C. gulag and is very matter-of-fact about the lay of the land, how every dictatorship starts this way (i.e. using sham trials to try political opponents) and that is just the way it’s always been since time immemorial. He also said that as a Christian it should be expected - that we would find trouble, and persecution, in this world. Very inspiring guy. Says that what he’s going through (solitary confinement for 22 hours daily and looking at a sentence of a decade or two) is nothing what Solzhenitsyn went through.  He says he wants to keep the mindset of Nelson Mandela, who always knew despite 20 years in prison that he would be vindicated. 

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I've of late become fascinated by the leaders being agents of destruction. No one is owed a biography of a public person. Perhaps barely we are owed a logical explanation of an illogical decision but the actions speak loudly enough. Perhaps it's enough that their dogma speaks loudly within them, to quote Sen Feinstein. And that in itself is helpful in understanding the times we are in, and who has chosen which side. 

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The homilist was unexpectedly moving. He was very self-deprecating, apologizing for not having time to prepare a good homily since the past week has been crazy and unexpectedly so. He said not that any of his homilies are much good which would get 5 Pinocchio’s from me. 

He said that having had recent heart issues with a pacemaker installed has led him to consider how selfish he is and how unappreciative of how all the stress, sadness, strife in his life was much for the good. He said without the suffering he would still be an atheist. He said of those who tell him they had a hard childhood basically everyone does and “welcome to the world”. He also said how everything is falling apart at the same time, crime up, and the southern border wide open to narco traffickers but God makes the crooked straight and brings good out of evil.