She always imagined that evil played out on a large canvas- wars, concentration camps, gas chambers, the partitioning of nations. Now she realized that evil had a domestic side, and its very banality protected it from exposure.
Interpretation
Evil exists not only in grand acts but also in everyday situations, often unnoticed.
This quote highlights the often-overlooked presence of evil in mundane, everyday life, contrasting it with the more overt manifestations such as war and genocide. It suggests that the ordinary nature of this domestic evil can make it more insidious, as it goes unrecognized and unchallenged, thereby perpetuating its existence and impact on society.
In practice
During a discussion on moral philosophy, to emphasize the subtle nature of evil in daily life.
What she had believed was indignation or rage or a deep intolerance for injustice came down to this: she was irreducibly in love with this bewitching planet, this thrilling life, this heartbreaking species she belonged to, with its capacity for stupefying destruction and breathtaking magnanimity.
Men cannot expect to do ill and fare well, but to find that done to them which they did to others.
If you create an act, you create a habit. If you create a habit, you create a character. If you create a character, you create a destiny.
Our country does not believe in the concept of your God and my God. We believe that all gods are one. We have different ways of accepting Him. All ways lead to Him.
To us, the ashes of our ancestors are sacred and their resting place is hallowed ground.
Forbidden pleasures alone are loved immoderately; when lawful, they do not excite desire.
Character assassination is at once easier and surer than physical assault; and it involves far less risk for the assassin. It leaves him free to commit the same deed over and over again, and may, indeed, win him the honors of a hero in the country of his victims.
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