Reflecting on People Of The Lie – the evil who walk among us

By Alec Hogg

Much of life is a battle between good and evil. Good being those who believe in fair play and transparency – doing unto others as they would have it done unto themselves. Evil, the default for what best-selling psychologist Scott Peck described in People of The Lie as "malignant narcissists".

Peck's chilling follow up to his 10m selling masterpiece The Road Less Travelled, focuses on the evil who walk among us. He concluded that malignant narcissism is a mental illness, its key symptoms being the coercion and control of others; intellectual deviousness; lack of empathy; greed; scapegoating; excessive intolerance of criticism; and pronounced concern about their public image.

Not surprisingly, such People of The Lie are no fans of a vibrant, questioning media. As Peck writes on page 179: "The evil hate the light – the light of goodness that shows them up; the light of scrutiny that exposes them; the light of truth that penetrates their deception."

There's something for scandal-wracked South Africa to reflect deeply upon with ballot boxes about to offer the opportunity to effect leadership change.

From Biznews community member Chris White

Your daily line gives some poetry to the evil in the world – Lenard Cohen in a song sang something like "…there's a crack in everything ! that's how the light gets in" sometimes it takes a while for the truth to come out, we just have to wait – enjoy your new home…"