Is George W. Bush evil?

When George W. Bush was first elected (appointed) president, I beleived that while he wasn't nice and he wasn't smart, it was dangerous and irresponsible to call the man evil. But now, the whole question has been reopened for me due to various events including torture, murder, and plans that seemed designed to create poverty. Since Evil is hard to define and largely a theological question, I'll break down my thinking on this.

Does Evil Exist? What is Evil

This is a tricky question. You could also ask does good exist? It is usually easier to define something as good and then see evil as it's opposite. So, if life is good, murder is bad. For people with very black and white world views, including many religious conservatives, the grey areas are not at all troubling. For example, a religious conservative would say life is good, murder is bad--abortion is bad, murderers should get the death penalty. A liberal christian might say life is good, murder is wrong--the death penalty is wrong.

So, my personal sense of the nature of evil is based on my personal values. Life is good. Freedom is good. Murder is bad. Torture is bad. Poverty is bad because it takes a way freedom. Education is good because it gives you the ability to do something with your freedom.

Is George W. Bush evil?

Caveat: George Bush may not be a knowing actor. So, if he has some sort of brain damage from the drugs he did or if he has no idea what his administration is doing or the importance of his decisions, he can't properly be called evil.

That said, here's the case. If Iraq is an unjust war, then the 100,000 Iraqis who are dead were murdered. Torture is a clear violation of human rights and we have disavowed the Geneva Convention under this administration. Spending 40 million on an inagural celebration when children in this country are malnourished and when a large tidal wave has just killed 150,000 people is a poor choice.

Ethics is something that plays itself out in choices. If you have a choice, you have an opportunity to make an ethically good or bad decision. As President of the United States after September 11, George W. Bush had more choices that most Presidents. He chose badly. We are now a divided country and a country that does not act on the values we purportedly all agree on--life and freedom. How, we'll ever have a sane discussion on the values we don't agree on--I don't know.