Evil...

I'm going to have to borrow Hannah's idea and post Voldemort as my personal idea of evil. He is a pop culture representation of the idea that I truly see as evil. The theme of "For the Greater Good" can be seen not only in the historical accounts of the Salem witch trials, but in the popular culture references of the book series Harry Potter and the television series Bones.

When thinking on the idea of "For the Greater Good," the first thing that pops into my head is Harry Potter. The character of Grindelwald is one not central to the plot, but he is in the background of the entire series, known by the wizarding world for his epic final battle with Dumbledore. During his reign of terror, Grindelwald's motto throughout his reign of terror was "For the Greater Good." He believed that wizards should be brought out of hiding and that muggles should be put in their "proper" place, as slaves to the wizarding race. The deaths of muggles, muggle born witches and wizards, and half blooded witches and wizards would be a necessary extinction for the greater good of the pureblooded witches and wizards ruling the world. The deaths and enslavement of any non-pureblood witches and wizards were seen by Grindelwald as necessary and beneficial to those in power.

During the Salem witch trials, many citizens were burned at the stake simply for being accused of witchcraft. The women already accused attempted to get themselves out of trouble by accusing others in the community. The beginnings of the witch hunts came from the admission of one woman that she saw the devil’s book and saw nine names in the book. The woman could only remember the names of two of the women in the book, but new that there were nine. Logic tells me that the hunt should have been over after nine women had been found and accused of being witches. Yet it did not. The hunt continued as accusations kept coming in. It has been argued that the reasoning behind the witch hunts came from the desire of upper class citizens to protect the community as a whole. The thought that the deaths of many community members would be beneficial to the community is a horrible thought. This would imply that the overall human experience is more important than the life of one individual person.

The popular Fox television show Bones features the adventures and misadventures of Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist for the Jeffersonian and her FBI partner, Seely Booth as they attempt to solve murders. During an early season of the show, the team begins work on a case that makes all of the characters worry about each other. "Gormagon," as the killer is known, is a cannibalistic killer who focuses on members of supposed secret societies. After an explosion in the lab, it is evident that Gormagon's apprentice is a member of the lab itself, shuffling suspicion among the team members. When reviewing evidence, Brennan realizes that the killer is, in fact, her  intern and assistant, the young Zach Addy. He was approached by Gormagon and convinced of his logic. A normally extremely logical person, Zach is convinced by the killer's false logic. He even went as far as to plan a bomb explosion in the lab to allow the Gormagon to steal the silver skeleton, a key piece of evidence in the cases. During a conversation between Brennan and Zach after the explosion, she persuades Zach that his logic is false.

The explosion in the lab was delayed by Zach arguing with his best friend, fellow scientist Jack Hodgins. This delay allowed the explosion to get too large, severely injuring Zach in the process. While in the hospital, it becomes obvious that Zach is the killer. Brennan, confronting Zach, discusses his logic behind the entire affair with Gormagon. Zach's logic is based entirely on the statements that secret societies exist, that the human experience is negatively affected by the existence of secret societies, and that the overall human experience is more important that the life of one individual. When Zach agrees with all of the statements, confirming his logic behind his actions, Brennan mentions the fact that Zach refused to let Hodgins be the one severely injured in the explosion. He saved his best friend instead of letting him be injured, despite his belief that the human experience is more important than the life of one individual.

The idea that the human experience is greater than the life of one individual is an idea that connects with the idea of something being for the greater good. Death and murder are not and cannot be for the greater good. No human life is worth the supposed benefit to the overall human experience.