Visible villainy; invisible iniquity!

Apr 24, 2016 Countryman, Features / Columnists

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By Dennis Nichols
‘Why did the chicken cross the road’ is the kind of ‘muh-riddle-muh-riddle-muh-ree’ question that points out

the absurdity of trying to fathom a seemingly incongruous action when the most plausible response is actually the simplest; in this case, to get to the other side. This answer doesn’t consider other maybe subliminal motives; a facile conclusion is enough.
It isn’t so simple though when you come to the motives behind human behaviour, even when the answer appears obvious, like why Guyana seems so prone to the madness of apparently ‘senseless’ acts of aggression, murder, ‘accidents’ and suicides or suicide attempts ad infinitum; ad nauseum.
I’m tired of the question, but still have a hunger for answers. This past Tuesday after engaging in some business in downtown GT, I was stuck in serious thought mode for hours and, as happens occasionally, the reason wasn’t hard to figure out. (Leave aside political shenanigans and white collar villainy for now)
First was the Facebook news flash that the body of Simone Hackett had been found. The circumstances surrounding that tragedy with its maid-of-honour and victim-of-dishonour themes, was a poignant reminder of the vulnerability of trust and betrayal in human nature. Then by midday a young businessman had been killed, drilled by a bullet to the chest, and a woman pulled from the Demerara River sludge after an alleged suicide attempt.
I shortened my downtown sojourn and returned home. At around 8 p.m. my sister got back from church and asked me if I heard about the accident. No, I hadn’t. Well, minutes earlier, just 200 yards from where I live, a female motorcycle pillion rider was struck and killed on Mandela Avenue at a spot I traverse almost daily.
Four tragedies played out in less than 12 hours in and around Georgetown had me thinking on my back, and trying to find solace in spiritual reflection. These outrages came just days after several other horrible incidents including the mowing down of that young female soldier, the incineration of an elderly couple, and the carnage of body parts as the lives of two young partygoers were snapped. Some are barefaced; all graphic and highly visible. And these are only the ones that make the headlines.
At such moments certain notions about religion, science, and philosophy torment me with answerless questions, or a big void. The wheels spin endlessly. The feeling of injustice is palpable, and my thoughts turn to this idea of invisible iniquity – the concept of otherworldly beings intervening in the affairs of humans.
The people who claim they understand this phenomenon attribute much of our criminal and self-serving behaviour to evil spirits – said by some to be fallen angels whose acts are orchestrated by the ‘Great Deceiver’ operating from a dimension generally unseen by humans. Others say they are sent at God’s behest as punishment for specific transgressions. And according to one popular belief, we humans may summon them by iniquitous means to cause all kinds of mischief and torment to our ‘enemies’.
There’s a spirit of sickness, a spirit of death, spirits of lust, pride, envy, guilt, and a hundred other human failings. The majority of murders, suicides, ‘accidents’, neuroses, and psychoses are of course attributed to demonic influence caused mainly by our own disobedience to God’s will, or perhaps delving into or unintentionally accommodating the occult.
My skeptic’s mind balks at this notion. My mostly scientific and philosophical orientation says “Think” but this thing called the mystery of iniquity forces me to consider its covert reality. The bible addresses that enigma through Lucifer’s fall from grace and the advent of human sin, but fails to fully satisfy some reasoning minds. Even theologians and biblical scholars have struggled with it. Others however claim divine revelation.
Some of these are persons who profess a faith-based conviction of the good-and-evil battle for human souls engaged in by the forces of light warring against the powers of darkness in the spiritual realm. Some claim intimate knowledge of traditional ‘spiritual’ practices like Obeah and Kali Mai Puja. Many are ordinary folk who, it is said, are chosen by God because of their undiluted faith. Major religions, from Hinduism and Zoroastrianism to Christianity, seem to embrace various interpretations of this good/evil, flesh/spirit dualism.
For Christians, Verse 27 of 1 Corinthians is quoted to substantiate the idea that “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;” Could it be we are overthinking the problem and underutilizing spiritual warfare in our fight against social degradation?
Maybe, but criminal profilers and law makers are more inclined to go with the idea that human personalities are either genetically or socially predisposed to crime, or warped by brain deformities and chemical imbalances, yet with enough of an innate moral compassing to be held largely responsible for their actions.
Just three years ago, a renowned German neurologist claimed to have found the ‘evil patch’ – a dark mass that showed up in x-rays of the central lobe of violent criminals’ brains. He did so while investigating such offenders over the years for the German government.
In one example he said that while showing them short films and simultaneously measuring their brain waves as they viewed brutal and squalid scenes, no emotion was detected in the areas of the brain where compassion and sorrow are created. If true, this and other suspected physiological causes of criminal behaviour may offer more hope to criminologists trying to get a better handle on antisocial behaviour.
But listen to British novelist, W. Somerset Maugham’s terse and cynical take on evil. Also a qualified physician and armchair philosopher, he declared, “There is no explanation for evil. It must be looked upon as a necessary part of the order of the universe. To ignore it is childish; to bewail it, senseless.” How poetic, how inconsiderate of human effort, and wait – necessary for the stability of the universe? What a thing for our tiny still-budding nation to ponder!
Most Guyanese I know and relate to, embrace an unwavering sense of national pride. But as crime and other social ills bourgeon, they tend to undermine patriotic fervour and stifle celebration. And with just four weeks left to the big jubilee bang, you can imagine what emotions some people are experiencing as the miscreants stink up the party.
But we live here, and my conclusion with respect to saving our country from the mayhem of an imploding society is nothing more spectacular than this clichéd and simplistic phrase – find a way. Natural, supernatural, or other – find a way. This is addressed not only to crime fighters, but to all peace-loving and nation-honouring citizens.
Find a way to take Guyana back from the ‘brotherhood of nasty minds and unfeeling dream-killers’. I have my reservations about capital punishment, but find a way.

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