Roman philosopher Musonius Rufus made a number of astute observations on the condition of man some 2,000 years ago. One that strikes me as timely is this:

To share the common notion that we shall be despised by others if in every way we do not strive to harm the first enemies we meet is the mark of mean-minded and ignorant men. For we say that the despicable man is recognized among other things by his inability to harm his enemies, but actually he is much more easily recognized by his inability to help them.

Science is caught in this trap at the moment, as are our politicians. Harming our perceived enemies before they harm us is a tired, worn out strategy that has never worked for mankind.

When this is our approach, we fall headlong into the mindset that he who succeeds is right. The moment we begin resisting evil is the moment our baser nature takes the reins and our nobler selves become unemployed.