Mark Souder: “too often in this world, evil is not called evil. In our rush not to offend others or to avoid making judgments, speech…”

“too often in this world, evil is not called evil. In our rush not to offend others or to avoid making judgments, speech is couched in euphemisms or soft tones. Evil is ignored or glossed over. Last year, the United States saw evil in Burma. And last year, the United States had the courage and conviction to call evil by its name. Last year, the United States Congress and President Bush imposed harsh sanctions on the military dictatorship controlling Burma. Some may say that the term evil is too harsh or that it is offensive, but in my estimation, there is no other word for what is happening right now in Burma. Men are routinely pressed into forced labor for the military. Women are raped and beaten. Countless children have been orphaned. Villages suspected of resistance are burned. Food is confiscated or destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of people are displaced in Burma and surrounding countries. And anyone can be thrown into prison at anytime for the slightest infraction or for no reason at all. Last week, we heard a lot about freedom. We heard that millions of people are now living in freedom because the Cold War came to an end because of the unrelenting pressure Ronald Reagan brought to bear against the Soviet Union. It is easy to think that because the Cold War is over, freedom has completely triumphed. Sadly, that is not the case. Millions of people, including the people of Burma, still live under the lash of dictatorship.”