Wednesday; February 9
John Stuart Mill is credited with this observation in an 1867 address to the University of St. Andrews, “Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows wrong to be committed in his name, and with the means which he helps to supply, because he will not trouble himself to use his mind on the subject.”. Sir Edmond Burke is often credited with a briefer version, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”. This has been on my mind recently because of the amount of violence I am seeing – not only in my community, but in our nation as well. Whether the information is anecdotal or based on factual trends, it appears that our communities are becoming more dangerous. While it is one thing to realize this, it is something altogether