Yes, Virginia, pure evil exists. Let love, generosity and devotion prevail. | Opinion

It’s safe to say that the children who were anxiously awaiting Christmas back in 1897 have since passed through their time on our beautiful planet. That includes 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon, who sent a letter to the New York Sun asking whether there was a Santa Claus.

Editor Francis Pharcellus Church then editorialized that Santa Claus exists “as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist.” Then unfolded the 20th century, one that began before the Wright brothers showed that we could fly but also birthed Hitler and Stalin. It was a century of incredible progress and a reminder of the incredible evil that lurks in the recesses of the human psyche, if not the human heart.

We’re already almost a quarter of the way through another century. Progress is getting scary. Just ask ChatGPT. Maybe we naively thought that evil could be identified, contained and limited. Sadly, we are being proven wrong.

Sadly, pure evil exists

Take Editor Church one further. Love and generosity must exist because evil exists. Is there pure evil in this world? That’s been a fundamental question for philosophers, poets and those looking to God for an answer for a very long time. It still is. There is evil. And there is evil so pure that it causes the soul to shudder.

It’s not about defining terms or playing language and logic games. Evil in its purest form can’t be parsed. It can not be contextualized. It certainly can’t be excused. Sure, every evil act takes place embedded in other events in the unfolding of often centuries-long conflicts. The settlements on the West Bank, a two-state solution and so much more are fodder for debate and passionate disagreement. This isn’t about any of that.

The fundamental evil of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel

This is about Oct. 7, a date that takes on a grotesque reminder among millions. Its meaning continues to shapeshift as the days and weeks unfold.

Hamas combatants did not make any attempt to attack military targets. Rather they sought to violate every notion of humanity and attack civilians in the most incredibly cruel manner, raping women literally to death, killing parents in front of their children and children in front of their parents. Throwing grenades into rooms filled with terrified concertgoers. Imagine the victims’ last visions, those of their own destroyed children or of massacred parents. Imagine life after that.

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Those who are quick to dismiss the value of the humanities should pause. Novelists often go where historians fear to tread. William Styron imagined life after such fundamental evil in “Sophie’s Choice.” I recall reading the novel, unable to escape the feeling that I had confronted pure evil, looking backwards through the life of a survivor of unimaginable human cruelty. A Nazi soldier made Sophie choose which of her two children would go to his death. If she refused, they both would die.

The aftermath of Oct. 7 is also profoundly troubling. There was no denying what had occurred. The perpetrators were proud. They shared the evidence. It’s been validated by multiple media outlets. Yet the reaction was painfully muted. Many throughout the world had little to say, or otherwise put it into “context.”

What happened Oct. 7 must never happen again

There is no context for pure evil. Yes, discuss and argue the bombing in Gaza. Debate the appropriate American response. Argue strategy, tactics and even morality. What happened on Oct. 7 must never happen again and must never be casually accepted by anyone, anywhere.

The civilized world also never need apologize for the set of norms and constraints on our worst impulses. Andrew Delbanco, in his brilliant book “The Death of Satan: How Americans Have Lost the Sense of Evil,” journeyed to the heart of the issue.

Today’s traumatized child may toss a different question to Instagram or TikTok. The answer must be: Yes, Virginia, pure evil exists. Let love, generosity and devotion prevail.

William Lyons is Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Interim Associate Director of The Institute of American Civics at the Howard Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs at the University of Tennessee. He also served as Chief Policy Officer for Knoxville Mayors Bill Haslam, Daniel Brown and Madeline Rogero. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Institute of American Civics or the University of Tennessee.