Summer Sunday Afternoon Afterlife

Some thoughts I've had recently: if heaven was like lying in a hammock on a 70 degree blue sky day...I still couldn't do it for eternity...but for a hundred years or so wouldn't be bad.

Also I've been struck yet again by how...unsavory the human race can be.

But...there is some silver lining in this (not a play books worth...HA).

 We've been learning about the Milgram studies in a few of my Psych classes and it's something I knew about before but it's always interesting...oh and the Zimbardo Prison Experiment too (If you're unfamiliar with either of those Google em...interesting/disturbing stuff).

 Essentially both of studies conclude with the same idea...under the right conditions (those conditions basically being someone else is taking responsibility for your actions and you also view that someone else as a legitimate authority) the MAJORITY of regular, average, perfectly mentally healthy folks can and will do horrible atrocities.

 Later they won't understand why and usually almost always the answer is "I was just following orders."

 Now this isn't to make some anti-military point (Abu Ghraib is one of many instances that makes these implications clear so I don't have to drone on myself) but just to be aware...most evil isn't "outside evil."

 Outside evil is inside of us.

 So what's the silver lining? If we live with that awareness we CAN be better people. If we understand that about 65-70 percent of people will hesitantly but willingly shock a person to death for the purposes of a science experiment (Milgram) then we also understand that there is some 30-35 that could potentially be heroes.

  If we keep in mind that any one of us have the capacity for evil inside of us then maybe we can fight it when we're tempted to go with the flow.

 So it's depressing thought initially but in the end it feels like a silver lining. There's still room for heroes. Here's to that summer Sunday afternoon afterlife. One can hope.

P.S.-Has anyone else been seeing the night sky recently? Last night was pretty amazing...hoping for another good one tonight. G'night folks.