What's Evil?

Hitler truly believed that he was a good person. He believed he was ridding the world of the cancer of the Jewish people. If you met him at a cocktail party, he would greet you with a firm handshake, a bow, or maybe even kiss your hand.

Your ten minutes of politically correct charming conversation was wonderful, with no awkward pauses, and you’re left truly believing that Germany had a great leader.

What’s Evil? Evil is almost always charming. I liked Charles Riley, my editor, when I created “We Magazine” for people with disabilities. He also was very charming - at first! He wound up calling me a crude businessman in his very boring book on media and people with disabilities, although he never worked with either group in his life.

He also claimed that he worked in my crowded apartment on the upper west side of New York City. He doesn’t say that I was paying him $100,000, when the average editor at the time was making $60,000; or that my apartment had a 40-foot terrace, was 2,000 square feet, and overlooked Central Park!

But the worst thing about this evil sick stupid dude… (No, it wasn’t that he didn’t get a photo of me with President Clinton for our next cover. No, for evil ultimately is always stupid.) His true evil was shown by him turning my entire staff against me while I was busy bringing in investors (my personal $750,000 was quickly dwindling) and selling advertising. Thank you, Avon and City Bank, for being sponsors of We Magazine.

The new investors, Jerome Belsome and Carey Fields, found by me, were also turned against me by Mr. Evil, and so the magazine, of course, imploded after a few years. They lost all their money, and the 60 million people with disabilities lost a wonderful voice, all due to Charles Riley, who never worked with people or children with disabilities or in the larger media. I, however, received two Master’s Degrees in Education and Psychology and the NYC Big Brother of the Year Award. Mayor Rudy Giuliani was my Master of Ceremonies for We Magazine at our opening party. But enough of me and evil Riley. His name reminds me of a great flick about a guy who turns evil, “The Talented Mr. Ripley” (see my review under the film section in a future month).

ARE YOU READY TO SHIVER IN YOUR PANTS?

Many decades ago, M. Scott Peck, M.D., wrote a book titled “The Road Less Traveled.” The critics loved it, and it sold millions and millions of copies. His second book, “People of the Lie, The Hope for Healing Human Evil,” published in 1985, was panned by the critics and placed in the dustbin of history. In my opinion, it is a book of genius and a great analysis of evil. Peck tells us of how he was confused for years by certain people who came to him for therapy. No matter how hard he tried, he could not help them.

I’ll tell you one exchange. Mr. and Mrs. “X” come to him with their depressed son. After many sessions with the parents and then alone with the son, Peck finds out that the parents gave the child the same shotgun for Christmas that his older brother had received from his parents for Christmas the year before, which he used to commit suicide! NEED I SAY MORE?

Read the book. The hell with the critics. They panned Impressionism and so many other great works and artists of all kinds. It will help you recognize evil when you come face to face with it, as sooner or later you surely will! Why? Because our world is full of evil. Just think of the last century for a minute, right up to now: WWI, WWII, Korea, Mao, Vietnam, The Middle East, Iran, ready to destroy Israel and America with missiles and atomic and nuclear bombs. My God! Help Us All!

THE ELEVENTH HOUR

.....ding.....
how was it?
man, I don't know
you walk into his house and the only thing in his living
room is a big red box.
that's it?
yeah, and on the cover of the box there are three words,
Open At Risk!
Did you open it?
Yeah, I did.
So what was inside?
Only one word man,
Intimacy!
That's it?
Yeah man, go figure.
Yeah, go figure, intimacy.
What the hell does that mean?
Yeah man, yeah.

.....dong.....
life is a dream
within a dream
within a dew drop falling
through a solitary ray
of the rising sun.
.....ding.....
they soul-ed out man
they got the mansion, the mistress, and the ring
but somehow, they soul-ed out.
.....dong.....
if he was born with a headache
would he ever know he had one?
.....ding.....
and then she said,
every relationship,
sooner or later, becomes
who the two were
the second before they met.

.....dong.....
fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity

.....ding.....
if only they would stop looking for love from each other
we just might be able to start having some fun again.

.....dong.....
Charlie Chan fortune cookie say
if you would give up all that you hold of fear
you must receive all that you want of love.
wha-dat-mean?

.....ding.....
so Max Ernst does this painting called
'Madonna Spanking Child Jesus'.
so I'm looking at it with Mike at the opening at MOMA
we're both a bit high from the smoke and the wine
and I start seeing her pussy.

WHAT?

yeah, that's the first thought that came to my
mind also.

<strong>you're bs-ing me man.</strong>
<strong>Yeah? Google it. Go see it yourself.</strong>
<strong><em>(and that's why art critics are useless)</em></strong>
<strong>LOL</strong>