Day: July 22, 2025

“The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.” — Hannah Arendt

Hannah Arendt was a German philosopher and historian who eventually moved to America. She is most famous for her writings on the banality of evil. After witnessing the Nuremberg trials she noted that Adolf Eichmann, who was considered by some to be the architect of the Holocaust, was in fact a surprisingly ordinary man. She saw him as someone with little imagination who was intent on following orders no matter how immoral they might have seemed to be to most people. She wrote extensively on the lack of critical thinking that leads people to support toxic ideologies, noting that the majority of individuals who supported Adolf Hitler were generally devoid of the ability to analyze or assess situations to determine their rightness or wrongness.

As an educator I like to believe that I have influenced students to process information rather than blindly believing everything they hear or read. I have often warned them to research statements before standing behind them. I was taught by both my mother and my teachers to always take the time to analyze and evaluate ideas before following them wholeheartedly.

Firstly I want to get to truth which is often masked in propaganda. Then I need to know who is spreading information and what they may gain from having me follow them. Next I want to determine how certain beliefs will affect me and people that I may never meet. Only with much research will I be able to ascertain what should be the most appropriate way for me to either accept or deny the worth of what is being proclaimed. 

I am the first to admit that sometimes I fail to do my homework and all too quickly accept comments as facts without due diligence. Most of the time, however, I want to learn the truth and as such I do a great deal of reading and soul searching before arriving at a willingness to accept a particular way of thinking. I try to look at issues from many points of view, from an historical perspective and in how they conform to my moral code. Sometimes I find myself standing alone in defense of what I ultimately believe to be right. Often I advocate for groups being harmed even as there is no harm to myself. 

As a teacher and school administrator I learned that human nature is quite interesting. Some students and teachers thrive on rules and guidance. They prefer having clear cut instructions on how to always do things. They do not want a wide berth in determining how to proceed from one moment to the next. 

Others are inclined to sort out each situation individually, disliking the very notion of one size fitting all. They are not likely to automatically follow a leader or fall for trite ways of thinking. They are the folks who are always asking questions and demanding answers. 

I once worked in a school system that was filled with pithy sayings about learning and behavior. We were sent to conferences that flooded us with the beliefs of the leaders. Some of my colleagues followed with enthusiasm, some tended to just ignore the pressure to conform and others were loudly outspoken in their critiques. I remember a breathtaking moment when a brave woman ruined a presentation by questioning the school leader in front of everyone. I would learn over time that she was never one to follow orders blindly. She wanted to know why certain procedures had to be set in stone. Mostly she was the most morally grounded individual I have ever met. She was not someone who wanted to make trouble. Instead she insisted on knowing whether or not what she was being asked to do was actually good for the students or if it harmed them in some way. 

I have to say that I learned more from this woman than I ever taught her as I attempted to mentor her. She was steadfastly critical of canned thinking. She was as unlike Adolph Eichmann as anyone might ever be. She was unwilling to go with the popular flow. She had a code of goodness that never faltered. 

We are constantly being called upon these days to think critically before supporting particular points of view. It’s important that we do not become so banal in our lack of thinking that we become evil without even realizing it. If we are to have a political system that avoids the pitfalls and horror that have been perpetrated on humans throughout history we must take more time to ferret out the truth. That means that we cannot simply watch one news source or read the words of one person. We will only find truth when we are willing to consider that thinking in unison may actually be hiding evil and making us believe that those crying “wolf” are only trouble makers. The banality of evil is something that threatens us when we hear no evil, see no evil and do not take the time to determine who is actually speaking evil. It takes effort to go beyond just following orders, but the health of our nation and the world depends on all of us thinking critically. We have to actively make up our minds to choose good over evil. That will not happen without great care and thought.