Kyle Yancey's Profile

Now all humans encounter two
great moral crises early in life. The first is the discovery that the individual
cannot get his or her own way all the time. Our prisons are filled with people
who never got over the trauma of this discovery, but even more prevalent is the
retreat into a fantasy world where one's will does shape reality - in a word,
magic. This, not sexual frustration, is the great neurosis of the human race.
(In fact, don't a lot of sexually frustrated people retreat into a magical
fantasy world where they magically become desirable?) None of us are wholly free
of this neurosis. The second crisis is the discovery that it may be possible to
secure some immediate self-interest by violating some altruistic or group
preservation instinct. I have inhibitions against taking other people's mates or
property, but I can gain sexual or material gratification if I decide to ignore
those prohibitions. It may be possible for people never to face these crises if
they live in a lush environment that satisfies their demands and they never
become aware of any desires beyond comfort. It may well be that the "tree of the
knowledge of good and evil" in the Genesis account reflects an awareness of a
simpler past where people never faced moral dilemmas. But in a world harsh or
complex enough to compel awareness of moral dilemmas, every single person
will face them and it is inevitable that some will rebel against a universe that
thwarts their self-will, or choose their own gratification over the rights of
others. The only way to contain anti-social behavior is to contain the people
who commit it. We will always need police. We will always need prisons. We will always
need armies.