Why does evil succeed?

All that evil needs to succeed is that good men do nothing.  Edmund Burke

That’s one of my favorite sayings because it is so true.

Several people have asked why I think America is in such turmoil.  That’s a hard question to answer in just one post.  But since it’s the Christmas season there’s a movie playing that will give you a visual picture of what’s happening in Ferguson, New York and especially our capital.  It’s A Wonderful Life is a great movie and extremely heartwarming.  I can’t watch it without tearing up at the end.

The movie touches on suicide.  The year it played the movie company received hundreds of letters praising the movie and confirming that it stopped the writer from taking his/her life.  I’ve heard that letters still attest to that even after this long time.

Every time I watch it, the suicide issue takes a back seat.  Instead, I’m reminded of what happens when men of honor aren’t there to stop evil.  George Bailey was a strong character.  A man of honor and he saw the future and what it would be like if the evil Mr. Potter kept people poor and without hope.  George was determined to keep evil at bay by standing strong for all that was right in the town.  He loved people and cared about their lives.  Mr. Potter didn’t.  All he cared about was money.

When George faced his own crisis, an angel decided to let him see what life would have been like if he hadn’t been born.  He was allowed to see what would have happened to the town when George wasn’t there to stop evil.

When George Bailey was around the townspeople had a reason to strive for something better.  Without him, they gave in and let Potter rule the town.

With George Bailey it was a nice little town filled with people who were trying to make it.  They loved and cared about each other – and just like the end scene shows – they were George’s friend and they came to his rescue when he needed help.

Without George it became a harsh town with every evil imaginable.  It looked a little like most inner cities with pawn shops, peep shows and “x” rated everything.  You may wonder if one man can make all that difference.  I think he can.  We all influence hundreds of people in our lives.  And if you think it takes more than one person to influence a town…..that works too.  If a group of people decide to change their community, they probably can.  The trick is to get busy and work hard before evil become so big that it’s a life or death kind of fight.

I encourage you to purchase or rent the movie.  It’s black and white but it will give you a clear picture of what’s going on in America.  For too long good people – Christian people – moral people – have taken care of their own lives and stopped reaching out to others.  We are busy with our jobs and our kids and don’t always take the time to vote for moral men or to stand strong against the evil we see.  We hear about Atheist threatening to sue to get Christmas out of our schools or to make sure God is never mentioned.  When we do ever hear about good families demanding that God be allowed back in?

If you want to watch other movies with the same slant, try Back to the Future II or Star Wars or Mr. Smith goes to Washington or John Doe.

Why do good countries go bad?  Why do good cities go bad?  Why do good churches go bad?

All that evil needs to succeed is that good men do nothing.