Most people want to be doing good things for the world. We’re keen to join the fight against greed, discrimination, and the other pandemic evils. But many of us are also attached to our modern lifestyles. We like our sofas and smartphones, more than we like street marches and volunteer work. I don’t say this judgmentally, mind you – every organism in the world is hardwired to conserve its energy.
To solve the dilemma, we look for avatars of evil. We believe that evil manifests, in minor ways, inside our comfortable worlds, and we resolve to destroy those manifestations. We fight discrimination by going online to criticize shows and movies for poor representation. We fight pollution by boycotting the food brand we most associate with palm oil. These are fights one can pick without sacrificing a single 21st-century luxury. Avatars of evil permit us to be relaxedly fighting. Worse, they permit the ruthless industries that supply our luxuries – arguably the most urgent threat to the world – to advance unopposed.
Again, I’m not judging. That’s not why I’m writing this. This is just a friendly reminder that the things we fight the most fiercely about aren’t always the most important. They’re often the things that make us feel important.