[djsFlames]

It is said that "evil" people simply believe that others are evil and therefore what they're doing is good and/or righteous.

All a matter of perspective, but I can't imagine being a person that devoid of empathy or ignorant to the consequences of their actions. They must have truly believed they were being rewarded for it.

People can irritate or annoy me deeply, but as soon as they are struggling with something and show humility I still feel for them. Just unfathomable to be so insulated from that human-human empathy that you can carry out such an act.

There seems to be something inhuman about it.

I think the problem is people also have an innate need to try to immortalize themselves somehow, beyond their finite physical lifespan. Hence big families, legacies, books and monuments. And why people latch on to and devote themselves to such causes that they perceive to be grandiose or world-changing somehow. And the problem with those grandiose causes is they glorify the idea of sacrifice.

Exactly why the sort of spiritual thinking I identify with does not teach sacrificing or suffering to advance yourself in any way in life. Even though life is full of suffering I don't believe we are here with a purpose to suffer or inflict suffering elsewhere. Any organization that teaches you that sacrifuce or suffering is key should be a massive red flag from the outset. Those are principles rooted in inhuman ideals that do not recognize the value and sacredness of life, yours and that of the people around you.

If whatever it may be teaches you to feel incomplete, or that you have done wrong/sinned just by existing and that you need to answer for that then it is preying on people's innate fears and insecurities and probably shouldn't be trusted. When you really think about it, that's a pretty twisted way to draw people into serving a supposed larger purpose. Even manipulative. And that's why it has worked and continued over generations, in the case of certain religions and more extreme/radicalized factions.

I think it's just so, so important to keep one foot one the ground whichever way you choose to go. You'll always come across causes and ideas that you resonate with, but its crucial to never lose YOURSELF in an idea. The more uncertain you manage to remain in the face of people or organizations telling you "how" it is, the wiser you'll be. As soon as you begin to lay down a foundation of belief in specific conclusions about the world in order to run with a crowd and cease to question those conclusions, the sooner you'll no longer see things for exactly how they are, no more or less, greater or worse.