Sanity Rising: Unnecessary Evil

SANITY RISING

ABOUT

UNNECESSARY EVIL

AND

EXCELLING IN THE 21st CENTURY

By

John F Nienstedt

Copyright © 1999 by John F Nienstedt

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by

any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,

recording, or otherwise, without written permission from

the author.

ISBN 1-58500-386-7

ABOUT THE BOOK

SANITY RISING, is a myth-shattering book in two parts. The first part, Unnecessary Evil, focuses on society as the foremost cause for evil in the world. There are societies that focus on elitism, societies that encourage fooling one another for profit, and societies that restrict individual thinking. As ethical, free thinking societies emerge, unnecessary evil will become passe.

Part two, of SANITY RISING, addresses Excelling In The 21st Century. One example of part two’s unique chapters is the one on charisma. Possibly for the first time ever, charisma has been quantified. By following three simple steps any reader can now become charismatic.

Two parts of SANITY RISING combine for a refreshing blend of philosophy and self-help. They trumpet the simple truths for creating a better world, and provide guidance for becoming rich and famous in the new century.

CONTENTS

PREFACE

PROLOGUE

PART 1 UNNECESSARY EVIL

CHAPTER I TOWARDS THE SHADOWS

CHAPTER II AWAY FROM THE SHADOWS

CHAPTER III WHOM DO YOU TRUST?

CHAPTER IV THINK FOR YOURSELF

PART 2 EXCELLING IN THE 21st CENTURY

CHAPTER V WHY DO YOU ACT THAT WAY?

CHAPTER VI POWER PERSUASION

CHAPTER VII CHARISMA YOUR UNTAPPED POWER

CHAPTER VIII PILOT OR PASSENGER

EPILOGUE

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

PREFACE

What would life be like in a more pleasant world, say for example a world with little or no evil? Would it be the utopian existence of universal bliss, or a boring humdrum passage from birth to death?

As strange as it may seem, the idea of a human race without evil may be unsettling to many people. Their fight against evil gives them purpose—a challenge to overcome in their quest for eternal glory in the Kingdom of Heaven. To others, evil provides spice to what otherwise might be a dull existence.

Our fascination with evil seems limitless. Dramatists excite us with tales of heroes suffering from, then destroying, the vestiges of evil. Ratings soar when networks televise spectacular murder trials. Gory details of crime scenes fascinate us in the tabloids.

We’re trained very young to confront evil as we hear fairy tales of heroes destroying wicked witches. Later in playgrounds we tackle the villains ourselves in games of cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, and knights slaying dragons. Without the bad guys, whom would we have to conquer?

As long as we do not personally suffer the most hideous effects of evil, we tend to accept it as a concomitant to life. Since human memory has never known a time without it, evil seems (pardon the pun) a necessary evil. And, if we’re willing to accept the concept of generic evil then there is very little we can do about it, right. Might as well go on with business as usual and hope for something better in the hereafter.

The shadows of evil have long been part of the human condition and shadows are essential for life. I submit that we can observe the shadows. They add necessary dimension and zest to living. What we don’t have to do is live in the shadows where evil resides.

In part one, of SANITY RISING, I offer sincere, ethical examples for living. These examples are the first steps in creating a world void of, unnecessary evil.

PROLOGUE

Who will be the most successful people in the 21st century? Most likely the successful ones will be highly ethical, free thinking, men and women who understand and employ fresh approaches to persuasion. These people will have discovered their charisma and will use this considerable power to increase their influence.

SANITY RISING accommodates a nicer world. It also presents opportunities for individuals to excel as society enters its next evolutionary advance.

There is a very good chance that evil will become passe in the 21st century and success will no longer be predicated on the overused process of fooling others. The rich and famous will come from the ranks of those who prosper by helping others prosper. Snake oil sales principles may finally become obsolete.

Part two of SANITY RISING provides the opportunity for thoughtful readers to be leaders. Stubborn, highly competitive people will most likely resist and resent this offering. Such resistance provides all the more opportunities for the open minded to be trendsetters and enjoy meaningful success in a nicer world they helped create. In other words, they will be excelling in the 21st century.

PART 1

UNNECESSARY EVIL

CHAPTER I

TOWARDS THE SHADOWS

We cannot do evil to others without doing it to ourselves.

Joseph Desmahis

In East Africa a young man runs around the corner of a hut in his village. He quickly realizes his mistake as he sees more villagers ahead. He turns around just as others knock him to the ground.

The crowd grabs his arms and legs and carries him to a wooden platform. His screams are ignored and his struggling is useless.

Without ceremony, a fellow tribesman raises a machete and strikes a swift blow to the back of the young man’s neck, severing the head from the body. The villagers squeal with glee.

Two other tribesmen proceed to butcher the man’s body into smaller pieces. Several women pick up the body parts and place them in numerous baskets.

Later that afternoon, just before sunset, men of the tribe plant the assorted body parts in their various fields. Afterwards they return home, singing as they go. They’re confident of a splendid crop next season.

Eighty years later in Poland, soldiers are pounding on doors in a Warsaw ghetto. Without waiting for answers, they kick in the doors. Women scream and children cry as the Storm Troopers manhandle the occupants. The hapless victims are dragged, shoved, and beaten as they’re taken out to waiting trucks.

One woman cries out, Why are you doing this?

Shut up, you Jewish whore, is the only response.

Packed to the limit, the trucks drive off with their human cargo. That very night, and for many months to come, the victims are subjected to rape, slavery, and execution at a death camp in Eastern Europe.

Across the Atlantic Ocean in a small southern town in the United States, two men get out of their car and approach a young black man. Hey, boy, what are you doing on this street? one of them demands.

The young black man tells the whites he’s just going home. Yea, nigger, that’s your story. We know better, you’re looking for white girls, ain’t you?

The black man’s denials go unheeded as he’s forced into the car and driven out of town. Later, standing on the edge of a sixty-foot drop into an abandoned quarry, the two men give the black man a choice. As they wave their revolvers, they tell him he can either jump or start running. Frightened and certain he’ll be shot, the black man hesitates for a minute, turns, and leaps to his death.

Damn, why’d he do a dumb thing like that? one of the whites exclaims. We wouldn’t have shot him.

Dumb niggers, you never know what they’ll do, the other replies. You’d think they’d know we have to scare a few every so often to impress the Klan. Shit, you’d think they wasn’t used to a little occasional roughin’ up. Ah hell, let’s get a beer.

In 1990, He and She are living together in Southern California. They’re an affectionate couple, especially on weekends when they get some speed. Methamphetamines seem to expand their understanding and tolerance for each other’s sometimes annoying habits. Their inhibitions are suppressed by the drug, and they can dance, party, and frequently make love all night for several nights in a row.

On occasion, they supplement their speed rush with pot and alcohol. All weekend they enjoy a carnal lifestyle and make plans for a terrific future. On Mondays they are tired, but still stimulated enough to function almost normally. Tuesdays are a different story. Bodies and brains are exhausted from the 72-hour sleepless binge and are not functioning well at all. Monday night’s rest is not enough to replenish their brains’ dopamines depleted from the weekend.

Their drug use causes them to experience radical mood swings. As good as they feel for the few days they’re on speed, they’ll feel equally bad for several days after it wears off.

On one particular Tuesday they are especially tired and irritable. Each of their annoying habits is driving the other nuts.

It’s been said that fatigue makes cowards of the bravest people and it certainly applies to our He and She. Their paranoia is rampant. Each is certain the other is cheating, hiding drugs, planning something bad, and just plain selfish.

Wednesday is terrible. He could hardly stay awake at work and made numerous mistakes. When He gets home, She’s cold and irritable. It doesn’t take much for her to start throwing things and breaking normally cherished possessions. He’s yelling and calling her names. She’s so irate she hits him with a vacuum cleaner extension pipe. His reaction is almost automatic as he swings and knocks her down.

The neighbors, hearing some of the same uproar they have heard so many times before, wonder if they should call the police. Not wanting to get involved, they decide not to, even after they hear more glass breaking.

Sometime around midnight the noise stops. Nothing more is heard until Thursday afternoon when a police car drives up. A few minutes later an ambulance arrives. Soon the paramedics are carrying out a body. Was it his body or hers? We don’t know because the face is covered. The crowd that gathers outside the couple’s apartment will find out soon enough, when He or She is led out in handcuffs.

A Universal Mystery

WHO AM I?

Who am I? I am as old as human memory. I have many names and many parents. Some call me Youth, because I am often born of ignorance. Some call me Chaos because they connect me to change. Some call me Meanness because I appear to act without any good intentions.

I laugh at your names for me. When you call me Greed, Lust, Avarice, Ambition, Anger, and Madness, you’re right. Yet, like the blind man trying to describe the elephant after touching just one part, you’re misled by the simplicity of your limited perspective.

If you must name the elephant, then call me Evil. I’m not simple, or am I? Do I have my own existence, or am I a consequence of human life? Am I beyond human control, or do you think you can master me?

So many of you seek comfort in one universal cause for my