Evolution of The Idea of Evil

[sid.rothchild]

I'm looking for some honest and brutal feedback on some dialog I am working out for a performance. The performance is about the evolution of the idea of Evil throughout the western civilization:

- The belief that natural phenomena are Evil or using Evil as an explanation for the challenges of man against his natural environment. For example, disease, natural disaster, famine being thought of as Evil or punishments from God.
- The belief that other civilizations/religions/nationalities/races are Evil or the source of Evil. This is ultimately out of ignorance and fear due to a lack of communication with and understanding of foreign cultures.
- The belief that impure thoughts or desires are Evil. Man attempts to separate his thoughts into moral and immoral desires in order to remove Evil from himself. The idea that men are imperfect sinners as a result of or as evidenced by original sin.
- The belief that Evil is a subconscious remnant of primitive man, a consequence of evolution.
- The belief that social, political or economic ideologies that are in direct conflict to one's own are Evil, can lead to Evil, or that any person or group espousing those ideologies is Evil.
- The Evil of Nihilism or the belief in nothing and that existence has no meaning.

So, in the climax of the performance a piece of dialog is exchanged between two main characters. I'm looking for some brutally honest feedback and some ideas on how to condense this and make it a bit less clunky. The two characters are Steve and Paul:

PAUL
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What happened to me? You happened to me. I once believed in something, I once was willing to die for what I believed in. If there is nothing worth dying for then there is nothing worth living for. Haven't you heard man, God is dead. There is nothing left to believe in, no morality, no religion, no good, no evil, everything is just...empty. I'm just trying my best to get through life, and if you aren't going to help me out then I'll find someone who can.


STEVE
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Nothing to live for? Why do you need darkness for there to be light, hate for there to be love? Why must you believe in Satan to believe in God. Why must you believe in Evil to believe in Good? You seek out Evil, though it is nowhere. Nature is not Evil, other men are not Evil, your thoughts are not Evil, your ideas are not Evil. You were not born Evil, it is not part of your DNA, your subconscious.

You need something to believe in? Believe that there is good in everything, in everyone, that all of creation is perfect from the tiniest insect to the largest star. Believe that if you can only understand that which is unclear then you will see that there is no part of yourself, anyone, or anything that is Evil. Believe in love, love of yourself and love of all of humanity, love of all that surrounds you. Believe that we are all one, see your face reflected on every continent

If you must seek something then seek truth, seek to remove the unknown from yourself, from others, from your world, for I promise you where light is brought to darkness there will be beauty there. Do not cower in fear or shame of the unknown.
Seek everyday to know better how to live completely... to live, even if just one day, before you die.