“If we could raise one generation of children with unconditional love, there would be no Hitlers.” -Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

The quote above can generate many different viewpoints on the possibility of love deterring people from bad actions.  People who read this quote wonder: Is it really possible? If it was possible, would it work? Is evil innate or developed?  If all of the world was good, would we be where we are today? I don’t think there is a definite answer to this theory. However, there are many different opinions.

Some say that evil is within you before birth and it cannot be changed.  A lot of people have a “warrior” gene, or a violent gene that causes the actions people make.  Humans also have a sinful nature, due to the first sins of Adam and Eve in The Garden of Good and Evil.  Being bad is engraved in our brains. You can see this in twins who continue to fight in the womb, even though they haven’t been taught anything or seen anything.  In opposition to Ross’s quote, we are already loved unconditionally by God, yet people still continue to do harmful things.

On the other hand, a different speculation can be made.  If all we knew was kindness and love, how would we know to be evil?  People learn to be spiteful through their peers and the people that surround them.  If these people who influence children are gone or non-existent, where does the cruelty come from?  If love is passed on from generation to generation, everyone will show kindness to their offspring and that’s all they will know.

Although Hitler was powerful, he did not create the WWII catastrophe on his own.  He had people join him and create the Nazi empire. Some Nazis join out of fear because they were scared of the threats and repercussions of Hitler.  This proves that a lot of evil can be generated through cowardice or terror. Yet, most Germans joined because they genuinely thought it was the right thing to do.  Hitler gained his power through numbers and propaganda. One person can’t create too much of a disaster on their own, they need people join in.

Another Hitler Example is when Hitler didn’t get into art school.  The rejection he felt caused a lot of hate to enter him. He felt this even though he had a loving childhood.  So you can see, one conclusion cannot really be made from Ross’s quote. I feel that we shouldn’t worry about if it is possible, since evil is already a thing.  To end on a good note, most of the world’s discoveries were effects of judgment and rejection and hate. The light bulb was created, despite the doubts most everyone had.  Evil is what makes the world interesting.