No one sees themselves as the bad guys

I have a working theory that says that no one has ever seen themselves as the bad guy. It doesn’t matter who we are talking about. Everyone, even the most evil of people in history, have always thought of themselves as on the side of good and that their cause is just. Many will invoke God in some way as justification for their actions and beliefs. We have this tendency to twist God for our own purposes after all. Humanity has been doing that for a long, long time.

Does that mean there are no “bad guys?” No, it doesn’t mean that at all. Some can see the damage others are doing in the midst of the action. Some can even see it before it happens. More will see the damage after the fact. And still others will never see it as damaging at all, just how they supposedly benefited. This is why it’s a bit easier to look back to the past — especially a past we didn’t personally play a part in. It’s easy for me to look back at the 1960’s for instance and make quick judgements about who the good guys and the bad guys were. I wasn’t born until 1976. It’s a lot harder for me to look at times I have been a part of because there’s always a danger that I have been on the wrong side. I know I have. Am I getting all right now? I doubt it. I pray that future generations will look back on me with some grace. That’s if anyone remembers me at all after three generations, which is unlikely for most of us. Which leads me to try to see the past with some grace as well.