Everyone loves to hate the classic evil villain. “Muahaha, I’m going to take over the world!” he cackles – maniacally, of course – and we shudder and seethe while waiting for the hero to come along and save the day. It’s so straightforward, so black and white: this is evil, and this is good. We know who to root for, and there’s no conflict about the villain’s motives. He’s just plain evil – he knows it, we know it, and everyone is okay with that state of affairs. It’s just that simple. But in real life, no one believes themselves to be a monster. Even the people who commit the most heinous crimes – rape, murder, genocide, slavery, abuse of children or animals – in the vast majority of cases do not inflict suffering without any qualms or misgivings. Even those who perpetrate evil have a sense of right and wrong, or at least a sense of what society at large considers right and wrong. So they find some way to justify their horrible acts, whether it’s reasoning that it’s somehow for the victim’s own good, or that it’s somehow deserved, or that the victim is somehow lesser – not a “real” person, not someone anyone will miss, not human. The fact of the matter is that the battle between good and evil rages within all of us every day. There’s no person on earth who can argue that they’ve never committed an act that can somehow be interpreted as “evil,” depending on who’s laying out the judgment. <continue reading>
And there’s also a new e-book giveaway while you’re there! And for our second stop today, we have a super fun author interview at Passionate Book Divas!
Thanks so much to Aeicha and Alana for hosting!! And check back every day this week for more bad guy themed festivities. :-)