Summer was beginning to waver, and the weather was a bit warm, so I invited Bubba, my imaginary friend, over to sit under the shade of my maple tree and enjoy a slice of homemade ‘peach’ pie and glass of sweet tea.
Of course, just like Socrates and Plato would ponder and dissect many subjects under a tree, Bubba and I did the very same thing.
Today’s topic, ‘why do people do people bad things?’
“You know Bubba, I spent 34 years working in prison, 16 as a prison warden, and I often wonder why people have to do bad things.
“I saw criminals incarcerated for many crimes.
“And then I look at the world and think about all the wars and hate. Even today, you can look at Israel and her neighbors and the bloodshed that soaks the ground in that part of the world’s sand. Turn the TV channel and you can see and hear the violence and sadness and cries of people while Russia battles the Ukraine.
“I just wonder sometimes, why people have to be so mean and sadistic.”
Bubba had taken his first bite of peach pie, “Boy this pie is some kind of good, Dargan Boy, and that sweet tea seems to have a little southern kick.”
But you ask a most important question, just why are people so bad and hateful.
Bubba responded:
“Some say all this mess began in the Garden of Eden when some talking snake tempted Eve to take a bite of some forbidden fruit.
“The snake supposedly said, ‘Did God really say that you must not eat from every tree of the garden?’ And then he continued, ‘You certainly will not die‘ and that you (Eve and Adam) would become like God, knowing good and bad.
And Eve enjoyed the fruit.
Well Dargan Boy, “Hate seemed to be born at that very moment, BUT In all the history of mankind I ain’t never heard of a snake having vocal cords and talking to people.”
So, I’m not really sure that is the origin of hate, BUT…..
Shortly after Eve ate the fruit, things seemed to go bad.
“How so?” asked the Dargan Boy.
Well, two sons were born from Adam and Eve, or so this story goes, one named Cain and the other Abel. And things must have been pretty normal with the first family until the boys grew up, said Bubba.
Then what happened? Asked the Dargan Boy
“Well for some’ reason, Cain, a farmer, killed his brother Abel, a shepherd, after God favored Abel’s offering over Cain’s.”
I guess we could surmise that sin, jealousy and sacrifice were the first examples of hate to appear, so God took some action. God banished Cain from the land and made him a restless wanderer; he was no longer a farmer.
God also marked Cain, so he wouldn’t be killed.
“A pretty sad story,” offered the Dargan Boy
Indeed, replied Bubba, but you remember the Civil War history? Brothers fighting each other there too.
The moral of this story is that hate does not exclude kinship. Murder happens every day somewhere, and I’m thinking kids just plain learn how to hate in the home.
“Hate and Anger are real and present dangers of humanity,” exclaimed Bubba.
There will never be peace and tranquility in the world with characters like Hate and Anger living on so many street corners.
“Can I have another slice of that peach pie and fill-up on my tea glass?” asked Bubba. “Sure,” said the Dargan Boy.
Bubba continued, “Some folk have shared some thoughts on anger; consider:
When a person’s speech is full of anger, it is because he or she suffers deeply, said Thich Nhat Hanh.”
It seems like ‘learned’ behavior.
I thought of Cain when I read this piece.
“Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame” commented Ben Franklin;
Can you imagine all the murders in the world? The wars that have dotted our history too? The anger and hate born in homes?
As a prison warden Bubba, I saw every day the anger and hate learned in those homes, replied Dargan Boy.
I know you have read stories of the Buddha, said Bubba; his advice really provokes thought too:
Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.
“Your pie is great, tea is sweet, and shade perfect, but now I must head home,” said Bubba.
“Let’s hope for a little ‘Peace’ in the world today Bubba” said Dargan Boy ~ we sure could use some ‘good news’!
Amen.
