Subtitle: In the Super Bowl of life?

Excerpt: The article explores the balance between good and evil in the world, comparing recent events and trends. While acknowledging the prevalence of violence, famine, and climate disasters, it also highlights acts of benevolence, improvements in health and education, and the absence of catastrophic cosmic events.

Author: Debra Hodges

Introduction

Are you a disaster movie fan? Do you drool when you see a great new action thriller coming soon to a theater near you? Do you especially love movies from Toho Co., Ltd., Walt Disney, and The Asylum? My answer is “yes” (d) all of the above. There is usually a happy ending in these movies, as if a divine, supernatural being made sure everything turned out all right (or at least that some people survived). So, what about the real world? Is someone watching over us to ensure everything will turn out all right for us in today’s world, too, or does that happen only in the movies?

In any discussion of good vs. evil, it helps to have recent, relevant facts to compare. See below for a comparison of these facts (same number and same scope). And please remember that evil acts are louder and more visible than many of the quieter, unobtrusive, benevolent acts that occur daily.

The Evil

Violence and famine are increasing in serious ways that impact millions of people. For example, thousands of people have been killed in the October 2023 attack on Israel and in the Gaza war. Many thousands more people have been killed, and many more are in danger from the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in Sudan because of the Sudanese civil war. Severe famine haunts the land because the Sudanese army restricts food shipments and other humanitarian aid to the area. [1]

Over 100 people were killed in the deadly flooding that occurred in Kerr County in July 2025. [2] Mass shootings have increased in the U.S. since 1982, the deadliest of which occurred on October 1, 2017, on the Las Vegas Strip (604 total victims). [3]

Civil unrest and polarization have been on the rise in the United States since 2024. The most intense conflicts followed increased immigration enforcement, campus unrest following the Charlie Kirk assassination, and mass “No Kings” protests. [4]

Climate disasters over the past decade have displaced nearly 250 million people, contributing to the misery people are already suffering from due to the violent conflicts in their countries. [5]

The Good

Benevolence declined in 2024 (as measured by charitable contributions, helping strangers, and volunteering time); however, the amounts given remained higher than they had been since 2006. [6] Most likely, this decline has been caused by a shift in priorities due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing economic insecurity.

The Happier Lives Institute recently published an article showing the results of the 2025 World Happiness Report. The good news is that happier people are more generous, and people are kinder than we believe they are. [7]

The Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade ruling in 2022, ending the constitutional right to abortion. [8]

Millions of people’s lives are improving in the key areas of health, education, and connection. For example, new HIV infections have declined by almost 40% since 2010; since 2023, 92% of the world has access to electricity; and global internet use has expanded access to education and jobs. [9]

Billions of the world’s poorest people now have access to safe water and sanitation, even though many still lack safe drinking water. [10]

The Divine

What do you think so far? Does evil vastly outweigh good? I’m not so sure it does because I can’t help thinking that things could be so much worse.

What if Earth were hit by a gamma-ray burst (the worst explosion in the whole universe) that destroyed the ozone layer and wiped us out?

What if a black hole or magnetar got inside our solar system and messed up Earth’s orbit? Thankfully, it has remained stable for billions of years.

What if an asteroid or comet hit the Earth and the impact caused a mass extinction event? Thankfully, Jupiter and the outer planets have our back by absorbing the impact of the worst of these objects.

What if something happened to the Earth’s hydrologic cycle? That is the process that sustains life on Earth daily. It regulates temperature, stabilizes the atmosphere, maintains the oxygen/carbon balance, and replenishes the Earth’s surface.

Conclusion

It looks to me like Someone intentionally arranged conditions on Earth for our benefit. The universe is hazardous and hostile to life! Somehow, Earth has been spared the worst of these disasters for a long time. This looks like divine providence to me. But what do you think? In my mind, I see that the world is deeply broken in places, but it is not dominated by evil. Life is sustained daily by goodness, whether it is recognized or not, even though evil may feel greater.

Resources

1. Wikipedia contributors. (2026, January 21). Famine in Sudan (2024–present). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famine_in_Sudan_(2024%E2%80%93present)

2. Wikipedia contributors. (2026a, January 4). July 2025 Central Texas floods. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_2025_Central_Texas_floods#:~:text=On%20July%204%2C%202025%2C%20destructive,of%20them%20in%20Kerr%20County.

3. Statista. (2025, November 19). Worst mass shootings in the U.S., as of August 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/476101/worst-mass-shootings-in-the-us/?srsltid=AfmBOooHvzDe83jVtSor6o9K5t2vBeIjOx-Dig77BL1TPT241s_-Fmcd

4. Key political violence and resilience trends from 2024. (n.d.). Bridging Divides Initiative. https://bridgingdivides.princeton.edu/key-political-violence-and-resilience-trends-2024

5. Lakhani, N. (2025, November 10). Climate disasters displaced 250 million people in past 10 years, UN report finds. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/09/climate-disasters-displaced-250-million-people-in-past-10-years-un-report-finds

6. Ray, J. (2025, February 26). Global Generosity: World felt Less charitable in 2024. Gallup.comhttps://news.gallup.com/poll/657200/global-generosity-world-felt-less-charitable-2024.aspx#:~:text=Donations%2C%20volunteering%20and%20helping%20strangers,(also%20down%20four%20points).

7. Happier Lives Institute. (2026, January 23). The top 25 happiest countries in 2025 plus our 4 favourite findings from the 2025 World Happiness Report. https://www.happierlivesinstitute.org/2025/03/20/the-top-25-happiest-countries-in-2025-plus-our-four-favourite-findings-from-the-2025-world-happiness-report/?utm_term=&utm_campaign=&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=4743918760&hsa_cam=22662202742&hsa_grp=&hsa_ad=&hsa_src=x&hsa_tgt=&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22662232547&gbraid=0AAAAAooB9aP_fqBHnDFlCYD8H83gpRhDY&gclid=Cj0KCQiAvtzLBhCPARIsALwhxdpuSKAIJ-djAr1JegjchM4pMjP4TcWtYnsjUElshazBxJPyWoAyu5QaAq5AEALw_wcB.

8. Totenberg, N. (2022, June 24). Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, ending right to abortion upheld for decades. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2022/06/24/1102305878/supreme-court-abortion-roe-v-wade-decision-overturn

9. United Nations. (n.d.). The Sustainable Development Goals have improved millions of lives over the past decade, but progress remains insufficient, UN report finds | United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/unis-nairobi/sustainable-development-goals-have-improved-millions-lives-over-past-decade-progress?utm_source=chatgpt.com

10. Lughnasadh. (n.d.). Conditions are rapidly improving for the world’s poorest people. Between 2015 and 2024, billions of people gained access to safe water and sanitation, though 1 in 4 still lack safe drinking water. : r/Futurology. https://www.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/1n3cqst/conditions_are_rapidly_improving_for_the_worlds/