"Ok, so, what you're saying is that evil is nothing more than a potentiality until it is chosen, or rather, until good is not chosen, at which point evil is actualized, infecting and corrupting actual agents who perform evil, and the best way to fight it is to focus on good things. Is that right," Deb questioned.
"Pretty much," Josef answered.
"So, why are you participating in a holiday that is associated with evil and evil imagery? Why are you promoting a celebration of that holiday? Shouldn't you be staying far far away from all of that if you really believe it's real."
"Absolutely, we should be staying away from evil, but it's a fine line. We're also supposed to be spreading light and fostering goodness. To do that you have to go into the darkness, where evil resides. It's not the bright places that need light, and the light is not intimidated by the dark.
"Now, in terms of evil imagery, that's a great point that I'd love to talk about. First off, what evil imagery are we talking about?"
"Skeletons, jack-o-lanterns, black cats, witches, bats, monsters, demons, death to name a few. Everything that symbolizes Halloween."
"So, symbols are interesting things. Take a jack-o-lantern for example. Most people are unaware of the legend behind the symbol and the potential connection to mischievous wandering souls and dreams with the devil. To most people, a jack-o-lantern is a symbol of fun, and yes, maybe a bit of spookiness, but not evil.
"Now, let's take this a step further. Almost no one considers a plain pumpkin to be evil imagery. In fact, a plain pumpkin is often associated with harvest or Thanksgiving, not even Halloween. In the same way, a lantern is not an evil symbol. It's a symbol of light and hope, sometimes associated with winter or Christmas. At what point then, do two benign symbols become evil? Where's that line? Why is it that neither a pumpkin nor a lantern are scary and bad, but a pumpkin lantern, now that's something to be feared? Is it the face? Are faces evil? Is it putting a face on an inanimate object? Are all masks evil? Sculptures? Paintings? You see where I'm going here?
"That's how evil works. Alex, you said you wanted to know about evil, well, evil operates in fear. Fear removes our ability to move or think clearly. It convinces us that everything is bad and there's nothing we can do, no matter how illogical its arguments are.
"So, yes, there are a ton of imagery and symbols this time of year that are associated with evil, but they are not evil, and symbols can change meaning and association. Take this cross around my neck for example. So you know what it means?"
"That you're a Christian or go to church?"
"Yep, but that's only because this symbol has been adopted and given new meaning. The cross is a brutal form of execution. It's technically equivalent to me wearing an electric chair or guillotine around my neck, but it's not because the cross has been given new meaning.
"Skeletons are just human bones, black cats are just black cats, spiders are just spiders, and even vampires and werewolves and other monsters have their roots in real, natural conditions, devoid of curses. Does using these symbols, and seeking to give them new or additional meaning make me evil? I don't think so.
"Of course, there are certain things that are inextricably connected to evil and should be avoided. Satan, demons, witches, though there has been some attempt to separate the source of the power behind witches and wizards from the individual themselves, and we definitely don't want to promote evil activities, such as murder, chaos, dark arts, but at the end of the day, if we can redeem costumed laughter, candy consumption, pumpkins, bats, even monsters, is that not instilling goodness and light into a dark place? Is that not the very way to fight evil?"
Part 24: 8
Part 26: 6