Introduction
The Lucifer effect theory holds that everyone can do evil. People have a variety of personalities that affect their behavior, whether they choose to do something or not. Even under the most hazardous circumstances, people may change to whatever suits them best. Phillip Zimbardo’s Stanford experiment demonstrates that individuals can conduct morally reprehensible even though their acts do not represent their genuine selves (Zimbardo 1). One of the typical characteristics of lousy conduct is the desire to cooperate since individuals would do anything if they were not held accountable. The Lucifer effect, however, ignores what is commonly referred to as the power of reason. It ignores the motivations behind people’s behavior and solely considers a person’s capacity for evil. The biblical figure of Lucifer illustrates how a once-good angel became a source of evil. Being God’s favorite angel, Lucifer ended up being the worst of all the angels after challenging God’s authority. Even the greatest of individuals may do wicked deeds in today’s world. Situations can bring out a person’s inherent heroism while forcing them to become spectators to evil.
Inaction in Law and Evil
Inaction in the face of an adverse circumstance is wicked. According to George Floyd and a community care article by Paterson, “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for decent men to do nothing”. People in charge of keeping people safe and preventing evil from happening are culpable for the awful crimes perpetrated in society. Good people damage the innocent and risk harming themselves when they stand by and allow evil to happen. The absence of resistance to evil is just as beneficial as allowing evil to follow someone who would otherwise be able to stop such evil from occurring (Paterson). Unfortunately, in today’s culture, the general people and law enforcement tend to refrain from intervening when improper conduct is committed.
Many good cops do nothing to stop their colleagues from abusing their authority to violate the rights of civilians. For instance, the black community in America has consistently seen several incidents of violence, bigotry, and hostility from the police (Patterson). The current incident’s video footage of George Floyd’s death serves as a reminder of the horror that resulted from the three police officer’s failure to act. Derek Chauvin, a police officer, choked the 46-year-old black American to death in broad daylight as the other three police officers gazed at him (Patterson). The other police officers watched while Floyd begged for his life and cried for breath. The news from the video and how the three police officers did not step in to stop that inhumane scenario disturbed many people (Patterson). It is the ideal illustration of why it is wrong to take no action to prevent a terrible thing from happening since, regardless of the rules in existence, allowing evil to flourish is unfair to everyone.
Relationship between Evil and Individual Viewpoints
The Lucifer Effect would contend that individuals might become evil-doers in the above-case scenario. Most bad deeds are committed because of legislation, individual viewpoints, or fear. An ordinary individual encounters several activities during their day that, if not compromised, can be halted. For instance, most parents work long hours, make investments, and achieve their financial targets without making time for their kids or other family members. The absence of parents affects children’s good actions and healthy behavioral habits. Children eventually start using drugs or acting violently, which might have been avoided if they had been excellent role models. It explains why a decent person failing to stop something horrible from happening is wicked in and of itself.
In addition, many adolescents deal with bullies at school who threaten others with violence, war, and torture. Most of the time, other kids fail to report the bullying behavior of these individuals; therefore, their wrongdoing goes unnoticed. Bullied excellent kids are afraid to do the right thing and say the bullies to the school administration. For instance, when I was admitted to the school, I had trouble adjusting because I was a new student. One of my greatest nightmares was the seniors harassing me. But I never had the chance to report because I was worried about what they might do to me. Comparing my experience to every new student who has been admitted to the school, I believe that, had I raised my concern, I could have been able to influence how new students feel on their first day. Bullying and parenting are two situations when decent individuals may be able to protect the wrongdoers from their evil deeds. It implies that individuals are less concerned about the harm evil can inflict on them when they remain passive. Bullying is a perfect example of how to let evil win and prevent innocent victims from receiving justice. With this extreme, there is no disputing the idea that failing to stop a harmful deed is wicked.
Maybe individuals should utilize their capacity for reason to see that evil only triumphs when appropriate actions are not taken. According to Paterson, doing nothing to stop a wicked deed is also evil since it results in injustice. It’s a well-known political axiom that what’s unfair to one is unfair to all. Justice can only exist when people stand up to wrongdoings committed against them and others. “Even little injustices that go unpunished are wrong because they foster a climate of intolerance, hatred, violence, and abuse of people” (Paterson). People frequently claim that the apparent harm of bad behavior to the victim is insignificant or nonexistent to defend their unwillingness to take action. Inaction in the face of an adverse circumstance is immoral since it harms those involved. The Lucifer Effect hypothesis states that “people can be transformed into cruel sadists to conduct crimes or evil without considering the impact on others” (Zimbardo 6). The guards and the convicts in the Stanford jail experiment could not show concern for the lives of the other groups. Instead, they were prepared to take the required precautions for their protection, which is terrible in and of itself.
Inaction in Government and Evil
People injure others directly or indirectly by failing to take action to avert a terrible scenario in daily interactions. For instance, people can believe that staying silent and committing insurance fraud harms others less significantly. However, if many individuals tried to resist acting because the insurance damage did not touch their employment or way of life, the harm would spread across a vast region and result in considerable evil. A financial or economic crisis brought on by insurance fraud might have an impact on the insurance company as well as everyone else who depends on the economy. Thus, for personal, financial, or any other reason, doing nothing to stop something horrible. The Lucifer Effect asserts that “people follow a powerful ideology that offers them to believe or explain their bad deeds” (Zimbardo 2). Political ideas in contemporary culture prevent governments from implementing significant initiatives that may rescue lives. According to Phillip Zimbardo’s theory of the Lucifer effect, people conceal their wicked deeds to uphold their ideas and make them appear noble deeds.
For instance, the US government perpetrated evil by doing little or nothing to stop the COVID-19 outbreak during the initial phase. The American government was confident in the supremacy of its homeland security and healthcare systems. According to Brandtner’s piece in Creatures of State, “the government did not take the necessary steps to protect Americans against the ensuing wave of the coronavirus epidemic” (24). Instead, the authorities handled the matter and classified it as a small public concern after the initial reports of the virus’s spread in Wuhan.
Although the crisis was predictable and avoidable in the first place, the administration resisted making amends. “There was a bloated healthcare system that neglected to care for many individuals” (Brandertner 45). At the same time, discriminatory policies were implemented for the last time, which exposed many Black Americans to the pandemic’s adverse effects (Brandtner et al.). Furthermore, the failure to take timely action in the wake of the devastating impacts of the coronavirus in Wuhan led to the destruction of the nation’s economy and the emergence of an unstable social climate. More than 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic were reported by March, highlighting that failing to stop something horrible from happening is a particularly evil deed.
Because people are illogical, it is also terrible to do nothing to avert a horrible situation. The ability to reason comes naturally to all people when they are born. The ability to employ deductive reasoning or rational thought to behave rationally and appropriately makes humans distinctive from other species. Humans can choose between doing good and doing harm; therefore, choosing to do nothing to stop something awful from happening is wicked. In the same way, circumstances may produce the bystander effect; they can also make sane individuals who will do their best to avert and prevent evil. People can behave rationally, for instance, by assisting others involved in vehicle accidents, floods, fires, and other disasters. There are more than enough causes for individuals to act like human beings rather than spectators.
People are inherently friendly and ready to assist; hence it is evil to do nothing to stop a horrible thing from happening. Humans can understand what is good and reject what is wrong, according to Zimbardo (34). He contends that when decent men band together, the evil must cooperate, or they would perish one by one, an unappreciated sacrifice in a despicable conflict. Humans are born with the ability to be heroes, and failing to intervene when something awful is happening is the worst kind of evil. For instance, a young guy named Jabar Gibson gained headlines during the historical event of Hurricane Katrina in the United States. Even though he had committed several offenses, he managed to steal a public bus, rescue his citizens from New Orleans, and transport them to Houston. It was a deed that demonstrated people’s capacity for good deeds to avert evil.
Gibson may have purposefully disregarded his human reason and social trait to act in this scenario, making his choice to remain passively wicked. The idea that it is terrible to do nothing to stop something dreadful is supported by several examples. First, many instances of terrorism and internal strife in the current world may be linked to the Rwandan Genocide. When society does not do its part to support at-risk groups, evil will increase everywhere. Second, failure to assist is wicked since so many people are affected by terrorism, genocides, disasters, fires, floods, and starvation. Third, intervention is a crucial tool for making things right. Doing nothing to stop something terrible is thus immoral because it forces people to compromise their morals to further their interests.
Conclusion
In conclusion, an individual being wicked consists of not doing anything to stop something horrible from happening. Witnessing atrocities is an unneeded evil, despite the daily struggles humans experience daily. Fighting for every social ill is exhausting and aggravating since society has turned hostile on many fronts. Humans, on the other hand, are social creatures with inherent or natural morals that encourage them to do good rather than outright evil. People should be aware of the repercussions of taking no action in a given scenario since people deal with war, violence, and other difficulties daily.
Making wrong decisions only serves to advance evil rather than promote well. The social traits of assisting are innate in everybody. People can use reason to think things through, reflect on them, and give them careful thought before acting. This implies that a person who chooses to remain silent in the face of atrocities has transgressed their fundamental right to reason. It does not seem right since it is possible to employ one’s ability to do well with their ability to do wrong. Therefore, when individuals fail to take action to stop a negative occurrence from happening, it is pure evil.
Works Cited
Brandtner, Christof, et al. Creatures of the State? Metropolitan Counties Compensated for State Inaction in Initial U.S. Response to COVID-19 Pandemic. 2020, pp. 1–51. Web.
Patterson, G. E. “George Floyd and a Community of Care.” Places Journal, no. 2021, 2021. Web.
Zimbardo, Philip. The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil. Random House, 2007, p. 551.