the question of evil*

Who is more corrupt?
The robber, who plunders a village, killing and raping
Or the mastermind genius, methodically working out the logistics of a mass concentration camp?

Is evil the crime of the visceral kind, or is it actually rather banal?
[Can we even draw a comparison between the two?]

What entails an even great disregard for human life?
The foot soldier, who injures and kills with his own two hands
Or the fighter pilot, who with a flip of a switch bombs entire neighbourhoods?

What entails more corruption of the heart?
To know right from wrong but still do what is wrong
Or to no longer be able to discern the distinction between the two?**


*just some general questions stirred by the comments on the previous post
**i plead your forgiveness for engaging in some cultural anachronism. i know that right/wrong as moral categories have debatably(sp?) lost their trendiness a few decades ago. but perhaps that in it of itself is indicative of the moral fiber of our age. i believe "moral fiber" is also an outdated term.