Thoughts on “Evil Triumphing”

There is a popularly known phrase, often (mis)attributed to Edmund Burke, although John Stuart Mills is known to have said something similar: “All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men [people] to do nothing.” (John Stuart Mills’ quote is “Bad men [people] need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.”)

Although many people have pointed out that Burke did not actually write that exact statement (and there is no record of him saying it), it has lived on in history as being his. Mills’ quote, though, less famous, is seen as quite similar. In essence, evil can flourish in places where “good people” do nothing to stop it. On the surface, that seems like a really meaningful statement. It recognizes that evil will win when good people do nothing about it.

But…I cannot stand that quote; I can’t stand either quote. My problems with the quote are relatively new; I grew up hearing it and then being reminded to be sure not do “nothing” about evil. I was a good person, after all. But, in recent years, it has begun to bother me more. Only recently, however, have I been able to figure out my problem with the quote(s). How long does someone who does nothing get to be considered “good”? Once? Twice? Fifty times? Until evil triumphs?

Not everyone recognizes evil when it happens; evil is stealthy that way. Not everyone is safe to speak up when evil happens; evil is oppressive that way. However, in modern times, when we decide to “hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil,” then we are becoming complicit in that evil. [Ironically, our modern use of the phrase is to ignore the presence of evil and pretend it’s not there…it’s original intent was to encourage people to avoid doing evil.”]

So, at what point does our status of “good people” change because we have been complicit in evil? How many times will people who do not speak out against the evil that they see and recognize as evil still be considered good people? There are, I am sure, no easy answers here, but it seems to me that the phrase might better be changed to “All it takes for evil to triumph is for people who do nothing to be considered good.”