Evil in the World

Dan Carlin might not appreciate the juxtaposition of the two photographs above but at least he will understand where the thought comes from. For those who don't already know, Carlin is the brilliant mind behind the "new media" podcast hits Hardcore History and Common Sense (both available for free on iTunes).

In Carlin's most recent broadcast of Common Sense entitled A Little Less Evil, he offers the insightful but politically incorrect observation that genocidal tendencies might form part of the human condition. As part of his discussion, he points out that the modern Chinese government has been responsible for an estimated 40,000,000 deaths and he invited his listeners to check out google images for some disturbing images of the carnage (a mass execution of Tibetan dissidents is pictured above). He decries the refusal of the leaders of western nations to simply refuse to deal with murderous regimes like China. He also lampoons the fact that, despite all the supposed outrage towards genocidal acts, the United Nations has been impotent to prevent any of the major genocides of the 20th and 21st centuries (including the recent ethnic cleansings in Rwanda and ongoing slaughter in Darfur).

I have no idea whether Carlin has any religious tendencies (I suspect not) but I can tell you that there is not a more perceptive and frank political/historical commentator in North America right now. If you haven't already checked out his podcasts, you are missing the boat.