By: Wayne Litke

We hear about it on television and read about it in newspapers. Every case is shocking and really incomprehensible. We never think it will happen locally, but it does and even small towns are not  immune to bizarre and senseless acts that result when individuals allows their mind to be controlled by the dark side.

It was that darkness, far deeper and more sinister than winter’s long nights that settled on the Town of Eston as 2009 was winding down. The evil permeated a man’s mind and heart to the point that the unthinkable occurred.  As a result Patricia Lockwood was gunned down in her own home. She was not killed by a burglar or a thief on a week-long meth amphetamine high. Her life was taken by her former friend, her long-time partner, who then took his own life.
It was a shocking and truly senseless crime, and it can occur anywhere when people give their minds to the dark side. Hideous acts such as a murder-suicide is the final step of a person who loses their ability to reason logically. Love becomes twisted and evil thoughts slowly become rationalized. The unthinkable becomes thinkable, and then doable when it becomes the sole focus of a misguided individual. Unbridled greed, envy and vengeance can allow a person to take anything that belongs to another person–even their life. Self-serving justification is all that is required. As a community, we need to be on guard against such thoughts and watch for indications of foul mental play that may lead to evil actions. Often the precursors are visible, but we fail to see them or ignore them. Sometimes the warning signs become so obvious the RCMP are called, but they are often powerless until a crime has been committed.
Having evil thoughts is not against the law, in fact thousands of individuals are getting rich at this very moment while they simultaneously corrupt and ruin the lives of people who buy into their plans. It is visible in every imaginable form including get-rich-quick schemes, gambling, pornography, sexual depravity such as child porn, arms sales, torture (mental and physical) and the list is only limited by a person’s imagination. Furthermore, thanks to technology and global communications, any evil act that  is desired can be found on a computer in a matter of minutes. It can also be implanted in the minds of young children through movies and playing video games that deal with sinister themes, twisted morals and actions that make evil behaviour acceptable because it occurs in a person’s mind. Therefore it’s not real, and cannot hurt anyone is the accepted public perception.
However, that thought process is wrong. Constant exposure to any element that slowly and steadily erodes a person’s values will take its toll unless a person has very strong moral character and purposely chooses to resist. The impact that the dark side and character erosion can have on a person is very tangible, they can destroy life and the symptoms or signs of moral decay are seldom recognized by its victims. Anyone who overcomes evil in any form is a hero in my estimation since it is generally a battle.
An individual who I consider to be a hero is a Nigerian banker who had to make a very difficult decision. He informed the authorities that he was worried his son had formed links with the terrorist group al-Qaeda and would do something terrible. Sure enough, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab,  tried unsuccessfully to blow up a Northwest Airlines plane on Christmas day as it was preparing to land in Detroit. Heros of the day were some of the 278 people on board who smelled smoke, heard what sounded like firecrackers, and then subdued the culprit.
Let’s keep up the fight in 2010.