Can man conquer evil?

Upon watching the address that President Obama and Elie Weisel gave at the former concentration camp in Buchenwold, one observation stood out...and I think it gets to the very heart of what divides the left from the right: it's this idea that humanity can one day transcend evil. You hear it when Elie laments his shattered hope that the horrors of the holocaust might have been enough to vanquish war from the face of the earth; and you hear it when Obama says that "while history is unknowable it arches towards progress."

It's easy to let Obama’s statement slide. After all, technology is rushing forward all around us at breath-taking speed; but, technological progress was not what Obama had in mind when he made that comment. It was said in a moral context, and it was a statement of faith in an idea of the human spirit – one that believes that we are constantly seeking -- and attaining – moral improvement, refinement..that the heart of man is steadily growing brighter.

It's a central tenet in the faith of secular humanism that mankind is evolving socially – it’s a compelling narrative to complement the theory of evolution. We are constantly moving towards greater complexity, awareness, symbiotic harmony. This is why the failures of Socialist experiments in the past leave the left undaunted -- the mistakes of the past only propel us forward. And it is why they have only marginal respect for the Constitution -- newer is always better.

Never mind the fact that this last century has seen horrors unheard of in history, or that various states murdered more of their own people than the death toll from all of the wars combined in the last century. Never mind that only today do we witness such bewildering acts of evil as children murdering their classmates.

It’s an article of faith.

And there is a countervailing article of faith as well – one that the evidence supports much more strongly. It contends that evil is an intrinsic component of human nature. It will always be with us, and it will always need a vigilant defense against – both from within and without.