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Good and evil

Social evil is the occurrence of issues that can be termed as detrimental to part of, or all the members in the society. Furthermore, social evil is fueled by issues of inequality or unfairness in the society. This is represented by the people in the society having an unequal access to basic human rights and dignity. For example in Mississippi is Burning racism is an issue that results to inequality in the society. First part of the scene depicts two signs one reading ‘colored’ while the other one reading ‘white’ as a show of racial segregation and hence inequality in the society. Secondly, basic human rights such as housing are denied to the blacks in the society because of racism. The film depicts the whites’ houses as stable and solid buildings near the affluent town while the blacks live in shackles, small wooden cottages away from town.

Moral evil is the occurrence of an intentional action that has a negative orientation and can result to the doer of the action being held accountable. These include murder and arson as depicted in the film Mississippi is Burning. The actions are negative because they intentionally cause harm to other people in then society. First, the film is mainly about the investigation of three murders that occurred in reality in the county of Neshoba during the wake of the civil rights movement. The Ku Klux Klan is depicted as murderers of the black people, epically the ones who are likely to talk to the FBI about crimes. Second, arson is depicted in a scene in which the Ku Klux Klan burns down the home of a family with a son who may talk to the FBI.

The bible quote from Leviticus 25:44-46 which states that:

“Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they beget in your land: and they shall be your possession. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigor as stated by the deputy wife is believed to apply to the Southerners experience of racism and slavery. For instance, in the film, Pell states that they reject Orientals and blacks because it was the role of the Ku Klux Klan to protect the democracy of the Anglo-Saxon as the bible demand that they protect their land. Second, the blacks are treated as unequal because they firs appeared in the Southern as slaves. The quote in the bible shows that strangers shall be bought as slaves and will continue working as slaves to the forth generation.

The two agents investigating the murders use both positive and negative attempts to investigate the existing evil in the Jessup County in Mississippi. Agent Alan Ward, a liberal from the north and Agent Rupert Anderson who is a former sheriff in Mississippi and thus understands the evil occurring in the society use different approaches to investigate the murders. A negative aspect is observed when the working relationship between the two agents deteriorates and they do not work together in an effort to concur the evil in the society. Agent Ward is more direct as an investigator while Agent Anderson is subtle. For example, in his subtle ways, Agent Anderson uses a negative approach by seducing the wife of the Deputy Sheriff, Clinton Pell, and consequently, gets to know the location of the dead bodies. This leads to the wife being violated by the Sheriff and she lands in hospital. However, on the positive side, agent Anderson takes care of the wife and confronts the Deputy Sheriff about the murders and the violation. However, the confrontation takes a negative approach when he threatens the Sheriff with a razor in the barber shop, beats him and leaves him to rotate on the barber’s chair. On the other hand, a positive approach is seen when agent Ward attempts to stop the harassing ways agent Anderson. Another negative approach used by agent Anderson is when he involves subtle tactics that involve sending in another FBI agent to abduct the mayor and threaten him about using a razor to castrate him. Nevertheless, the positive part is that the mayor gets to give information that leads to the arrests of the suspected Ku Klux Klan members. Agent Anderson also uses trickery to invite the Ku Klux Klan members, a move that put the life of Lester Cowan in danger as the KKK members believe he was talking to the FBI. The positive impact is that the FBI finally gets hold of the murderers and apprehends them to the court.

The final scene of the film shows that good appears to triumph over evil. The FBI has enough evidence to acquit the members of the Ku Klux Klan who murdered the three civil rights activists, and the corpses found. These members are charged with Civil Rights violations and tried at the federal level. Most of them are found guilty, and given sentences ranging between three and ten years. The balance of good over evil can be maintained in terms of political rightness. Good will endure over evil because of the social order and this is superficial but it is hard to tell whether the individual morality is ruled by the good. For instance, only part of the members of the Ku Klux Klan but the organization re mains. This can perpetuate evil later after some period of good and calmness.