Do Good, Avoid Evil

Essay by car__05High School, 12th gradeA+, October 2006

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"Do good, avoid evil, all flows from the basic premise that all people are good" - Plato. Is this statement true? Are all people really good? I don't think so. I think man has grown evil through materialism, the need to have ownership over everything. Ownership means control, and control leads to power.

From the time they took a bite out of the 'forbidden fruit' they made the great switch from innocence to shame. The switch that everyone makes at one time in his or her life. As children we run around naked, we say, paint, wear what we want. As we get older we don't want to share our toys, we develop jealousy. It is crazy how just one single object can control us. Have you ever seen two five year olds fighting over a toy? Automatically as adults we set up a time frame for each child instead of suggesting sharing and playing with the toy together.

At that time in their life these children learn a lesson, a lesson that we are conditioned to think is right. That one cannot share an item with another at the same time. There must be ownership on everything. Ownership because it signifies control.

Contrary to my previous statement sometimes in societies that have not yet been touched by the plague of jealousy, ownership, and the drive to control everything, there is no need for laws, police or rules. There is a common belief that everything God put on this Earth; trees, water, rocks, and animals all serve a purpose. They have all been put on Earth to do good for Man kind. These people do not know what it feels like to be jealous of your neighbor, or to want what they have. The root of all evil...