Sean Hannity asked this question today: "how does evil work?" The question had both a narrow and a broad context. The broad context was that the leadership in this country is becoming, to make up a word, 'evilized.' And by extention, the result is that the president and his administration are evil.

I tried to start a thread on Hannity's website, but it didn't take, for whatever reason. I would let it go but the question remains too evocative and provocative. Here's an answer that many of us might agree with....

"Here's how the banality of evil works. You become part of a group of disaffected people. You rail against immigrants and minorities. You find solace in xenophobia. You spread rumors. You have no desire to hurt anyone physically but you encourage gossip about your enemies. You respect 'the truth' but at the same time you make truth subjective. In time, you lose awareness of the power of words. You denigrate learning. You indulge paranoia. You excuse violence. You give hatred a pass. You avoid introspection. You accuse others of being 'ideological' just as you are exactly that. Above all, you fear the future and so seek refuge in the past. You accuse the president of being a socialist even as you sound like a fascist. In Germany, this particular kind of evil, a 'soft' evil if you will, characterized "The Good German". Here, now, on your show, you say to the callers, "You're a good American." Which has become the club handshake for 'people like us'. You, yourself, have become the 'good American' — not someone at the top of the media bureaucracy, but someone just under the surface, claiming a righteous position, even as you wreak havoc."