Is man “basically” good? Am I basically good? When answering for myself I would have to answer with a resounding NO! I am not basically good. When I look in the mirror in the morning I see things behind my eyes that I wish were never there. I see a deprived and corroding individual. But, I’m willing to bet that most of my friends would say I’m a “good” guy. Okay, let me clarify: no, I’m not a murderer, I’ve never stolen anything without having given it back, and I am not a creep when it comes to other serious stuff. What I’m talking about is where my mind goes, what I think about and, sometimes, what I say. Some of you might be asking, “really? Is that all? You feel bad about that?” Yes. I do. Let me explain why, and let me start by explaining “basically.”
A lot of times in society today, when I hear people say they are “basically good,” they are saying it after they have done something they aren’t proud of. They excuse what they did with this statement and hope that it justifies their actions. Now, granted, this isn’t everyone. I understand that. But, when people use the word “basically” in that sense, they are using it out of context. The word “basically” means: “in the most essential respects; fundamentally.” I got that from Google. Yeah, it was that easy. So, to summarize, “basically” basically means foundation. It is the basis for everything that is built upon that point. So, if man was “basically good” everything we think, say, or do should be good also. But is it? If good is man’s foundation, shouldn’t lying, stealing, cheating, and any other sin be an abomination to everyone. Murder would happen once in a life time, and lying would be the worst thing someone has done in the last six months. Maybe I’m over emphasizing a point, but let me try this: breaking news wouldn’t be, “Oh, John Doe stabbed five victims for the sake of his religion. Three are in critical care and two died on the scene.” It would be, “Did you see what John Doe did? He just cut that poor driver off! She was just trying to get to work and he cut her off. That’s horrific! Now for the weather.”