Is the Devil loose among us?

I have to remind myself frequently that all souls deserve love. Jesus and Buddha both taught this. A certain segment of American politics today seems to be completely ruled by egotism, greed, and hate, to the point that it seems to evidence some sort of demonic possession. To blame any kind of devil is to externalize evil and deny that the cause of hateful and destructive behavior lies within all of us. The cure is also within, and it is the pure essence of Love that is the life-giving manifestation of the universal Spirit. What has been cast as a struggle between good and evil is really between Spirit and ego, between Love and not-Love. A leader who expresses pure ego is dangerous because his example encourages the expression of unloving egoic traits in others. You could say he makes hatred acceptable. The temptation to resist hate with hate is strong, but that in itself is an ego response. Putting the blame for our negative impulses on any outside influence only keeps us from acknowledging our own responsibility to turn our backs on those impulses. The best we can do is to resist ego by accepting Love as the source of our attitudes and our behavior. Surrender is an essential spiritual practice, but we must be mindful at all times to surrender to Love and not to ego.

This blog contains a great deal of guidance on this subject.  For convenience, some posts are listed (and linked) below.

Love Is Still the Answer -- "Each of us is responsible to look into our own soul and ask whether we are contributing to the problem or to the solution through the energies we resonate to and broadcast."

Spirit and Politics -- "Even if government becomes cold and selfish, we must remain loving and compassionate, even redoubling our efforts."

Ending Xenophobia -- "It has become increasingly clear over the last several decades that humanity will not survive much longer as a species unless all of our disparate members are able to live peaceably together."

Compassion for the Uncompassionate --  "You are mistaken if you think compassion is a gift that you bestow upon others. Compassion is your obeisance to God, the recognition of the universal spirit that unites you with the other. If you lack compassion for any child of God you are choosing to separate yourself from God to that extent."

Are There Demons? -- "Belief in the Devil is seductive, because it allows us to blame our negative feelings and our misfortunes on an outside influence."