Evil, A Contracted Behavior

Are we as humans born malignant or is it the way that we are raised that shapes our conscious? Throughout our existence philosophers and great thinkers such as Aristotle, Marx, and Socrates have excogitated the answer to this age old question. The answer of this question could explain the wicked crimes of merciless killers and terrorists. Using evidence found throughout history, it is clear that people are not born evil but their childhood, life experiences, and pressure from society are what cultivate evil intentions.
Looking at historical figures and events, it seems that malicious intentions most frequently develop during childhood. During adolescence, the developing brain is easily shaped by what it experiences. For example, Mao Zedong, the first communist leader of The Peoples Republic of China, developed malicious and controlling intentions because his own father would beat him for personal enjoyment. and mentally break him down as punishment. His actions killed millions because of his overly ambitious plans that he executed without thought of his own people. His childhood trauma had made him void of all emotion and lacking empathy making him a danger to his citizens. Another example of a poor childhood is the former leader of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, who was executed for his crimes against humanity in 2006. He was raised by his mother in poverty, beaten and abused by his stepfather and step siblings. His sociopathic behavior towards the people of Iraq is thought to be caused by events in his childhood. Much like General Mao the events in his childhood developed him into a heartless person who did not care for anyone or anything except themselves. It is a well known fact that humans are very emotional beings, we have feelings of love, passion, anger, etc; however certain life experiences can evoke our deepest and most evil thoughts and can make people act irrationally and violently. In the argument of whether we are born evil there is substantial evidence that a specific event occurring in a certain person's life can make them overcome with evil intentions. An excellent example is the story of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler who led his party into world war two and a campaign to cleanse the world of undesirable people. It is believed that Hitler's animosity towards certain people was caused by him blaming Germany losing WW1 on these ethnic groups. It is fiercely debated that had he not been rejected from school and joined the military he would have become an Artist and ironically joined the health food industry. A second example of malevolent intentions developing from past experiences is losing a loved one. When someone close to you passes away, whether from a natural death or not a piece of ourselves dies. There is no clear reason why certain events can trigger the mind to reset, however research shows that most people can be affected by a psychological or physical trauma that can cause anything from depression to PTSD.
Although evidence shows that humans are not born with nefarious intentions, many argue that people are born evil and can not help it, such as in cases of deep psychological disorders. However it is society that corrupts these congenital issues and makes individuals act adversely. These ideas are usually found in serial killers and mass murderers who have centered their hatred towards an entire group of society that have tormented them in some way. An instance of evil intentions caused by society is the Columbine High School shootings in 1999 where students and staff where killed. They blamed society for outcasting them because of their unusual hobbies and ideas. To most people especially when in their youths social acceptance is of utmost importance and being rejected can feel isolating which leads to anger towards their perpetrators. The power of society is a two faced world bringing happiness to some and anger to others most commonly in the form of bullying. A final example of how society can cause villainous behavior is the extremely hideous actions done by King Leopold II of Belgium and his army in the Congo during the nineteenth century . The small country was forced by its powerful nations to make profit from the colony by forcing slave labor to make rubber. The enforcement used included cutting off hands and feet or killing children if people refused to work. The almost peer pressure by other nations to make money in many ways is alike to the schoolyard atmosphere. These very different yet extremely similar examples both show that the power of society and its ideas can drive a person to do things they never would think to perform.
To conclude, there is no doubt that based on the evidence of history, humans are not born evil but may become evil as a result of their upbringing, life experiences, and social interactions. We as a human race are not all born alike, there are disabilities, different races, economic standings, etc but we are all affected by things in our lives whether good or bad. This issue of our society being one that requires acceptance based on your beliefs and actions is unhealthy for us as a human race. The fact that we are under constant peer pressure to be normal and the same as all others is unsound and must end, and an acceptance of all people no matter if they are unpopular or strange must happen.