Teach Your Children to Resist Evil

One of my youngest daughters and I were watching Ken Burns' The War this past weekend on PBS. It's a great documentary about World War II, and I would recommend it to anyone. But it was fairly graphic in its depiction of the Holocaust and the horrible crimes committed against the Jewish people, and my daughter became quite upset.

She had been exposed to the history of the Holocaust in school. And I think it's important that our children, by the time they're teens, know about the Holocaust. Because as someone once said - I'm not sure who - those who don't understand history are doomed to repeat it. My daughter could not fathom how the killing and torturing of so many innocents took place. Specifically, she could not understand how so many people could turn to evil.

And so when I found this article by Stanford University professor Philip Zimbardo, The Lucifer Effect, it seemed like serendipity. In it, he advises how you can resist negative or evil influences in your own life. There are 20 tips. My favorites, though, are #5: "Be ready to say the three most difficult phrases in the world: 'I was wrong', 'I made a mistake', and 'I’ve changed my mind.' Cut bait, accept immediate loss of money, face, etc. that could lead to bigger long term losses..." and #17: "Trust your intuition, gut feelings when you sense you are becoming a target of influence, put up your counter-arguing mentality, and dig down for sources for resistance." Good advice for everyone.

I was unable to give my daughter an adequate explanation as to why the Holocaust occurred, why so many willingly let evil guide them. I don't think it's a question anyone will ever be able to adequately answer. But Philip Zimbardo's article provides, I think, some useful talking points for parents to discuss the issue of evil and how to resist its influence. At any rate, it's a starting point.