Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The hallmarks of high conflict include a narrowing middle ground, the growing sense of a binary "us vs. them" narrative—and absolute clarity that "we" are the good guys in the story, and "they" are the black hats. Some of this might feel a little new to us, but this accelerating vicious cycle of conflict is how most of human history has unfolded. Before there was a Magna Carta and Constitution, life was a Manichaean cosmic struggle between good and evil and (retroactive spoiler alert) it wasn't pretty. After all, if you're convinced you're fighting on the side of "good," what wouldn't you do to defeat "evil?" This will be a wide-ranging discussion encompassing all of human history and a full study of human nature. Please reserve 3 full days. (Naw, God Squad stars that they are, they'll do it in an hour.)
Check out the panel and more info about this program here (tlh.villagesquare.us/event/us-vs-them-good-vs-evil/) .
Catch up on past God Squad programs here (tlh.villagesquare.us/series/god-squad/) .
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Village SquareCast is funded in part by the Federation of State Humanities Councils (statehumanities.org/) with support from the Mellon Foundation (mellon.org/) and Florida Humanities (floridahumanities.org/) .
The hallmarks of high conflict include a narrowing middle ground, the growing sense of a binary "us vs. them" narrative—and absolute clarity that "we" are the good guys in the story, and "they" are the black hats. Some of this might feel a little new to us, but this accelerating vicious cycle of conflict is how most of human history has unfolded. Before there was a Magna Carta and Constitution, life was a Manichaean cosmic struggle between good and evil and (retroactive spoiler alert) it wasn't pretty. After all, if you're convinced you're fighting on the side of "good," what wouldn't you do to defeat "evil?" This will be a wide-ranging discussion encompassing all of human history and a full study of human nature. Please reserve 3 full days. (Naw, God Squad stars that they are, they'll do it in an hour.)
Check out the panel and more info about this program here (tlh.villagesquare.us/event/us-vs-them-good-vs-evil/) .
Catch up on past God Squad programs here (tlh.villagesquare.us/series/god-squad/) .
__________
Village SquareCast is funded in part by the Federation of State Humanities Councils (statehumanities.org/) with support from the Mellon Foundation (mellon.org/) and Florida Humanities (floridahumanities.org/) .
