Personally, as a general rule, I consider any attempt to force somebody to do something evil. That includes mental force from manipulation. Exceptions might be forcing somebody out of the way of an oncoming truck or something. I went back to this this morning as I thought about all the murder sprees. I wondered if kids were joining terrorist groups to make the so-called terrorists look bad – just as political operatives write awful legislation to make it look like the other party came up with it. Similar problems existed among libertarian friends whose philosophy was the sooner we vote idiots bent on destroying the nation to office, the sooner the nation can be leveled to make way for a rebirth. It is as if everybody really does know good from evil, but those who resort to evil are trying to force others to see things their way. They attack good to make others be good. I then thought I understood evil, but I was only dreaming. Another definition of evil I accept is the absence of reason. If the transitive relation holds, then force is what people resort to when reason fails, and that seems correct. Sometimes, I’ve been enticed, wondering if I shouldn’t join the ranks using reverse psychology or really standing behind sarcasm to try to prove a point. But good guys cease to be good guys when they play that way. Lying deprives people of truth, and truth sets them free.