There is no such animal as the lesser of two evils, to suggest such is to make a mockery of qualitative comparison.
Evil, the very antonym of goodness, cannot be quantified, mensurated, or gauged, and unambiguously exists unadulterated only in the absolute absence of conscience. True evil is a wholly original force, cannot be blamed upon external or even internal influences, does not manifest through stress, addiction, or circumstance, simply incontrovertibly appears when the owners otherwise disguising camouflage is sufficiently removed to expose the horror that ever lurked malignantly beneath. An individual may easily be extraordinarily wicked, bad, cruel, callous, perhaps outlandishly sadistic, but true unmitigated evil is a state so beyond such vapid synonyms as to almost escape human understanding.
Sociopathy, criminal personality disorder, is the inability of an individual to function socially, emotionally, empathetically, within the behavioral parameters generally held to normal for our species. Such vacant traits can be easily apparent or heavily concealed, run amok or be controlled and subdued. Sufferers of such psychological malfunctions are not guaranteed to display their innate symptoms, indeed may live their entire lifespan without diagnosis or detection, even using their seeming mental challenges as methodology towards successful career or existence. Sociopathy does not explain or mitigate evil, indeed the two are not necessarily conjoined. A total lack of compassion and understanding, an inability to physically enjoy feelings, a lack of gregariousness, these failings do not automatically guarantee the manifestation of evil.
Perhaps one of the more perturbing facets of personal villainy is that it can go undetected for a considerable length of time, indeed often the very existence only becomes apparent after the practitioner has passed beyond and possible judgement or repercussion.
I have perhaps had intimate knowledge of four or five truly evil individuals in my lifetime, all of whom have long since passed beyond the veil. Of this handful most would superficially appear of first-rate character, only the clarity of hindsight revealing their true demonic nature.
Evil invests men and women equally, both genders having the same capacity to connive, manipulate, show aggression, tease and torture physically and mentally. Similarly I am quite certain that the same seed can be found in the young, growing with equal ease in both boy and girl. Once released from whatever dark corner of the psyche such a heinous venom skulks there is little doubt the malevolence impatiently seeks nefarious work and influence.
The sacrament of reconciliation, to include contrition, confession, repentance, forgiveness, and absolution is considered suitable for the expunging of transgressions against divine law, similar systems of pleading and retribution exist in the secular environs. From mine own standpoint no ritualistic or administrative process can ever truly address the nature of abstract evil, an elemental beyond spiritual or temporal understanding and judgement. Some considerations are simply beyond the pale.
Daily Abstract Thoughts 