Do you know why a dam collapses?

“Negligence,” “lack of maintenance” — that’s what many would say. And they would be right.

But what about when a good person builds a dam against the reservoir of his own hatred?

To save himself? That’s not our greatest concern. We are willing to protect everyone around us from the possible flood of that wrath. We have seen before how it happens. We know it isn’t pretty. We use that very fury as energy. We keep everything in place. It is an advantage. So when something like this happens, you know it was not due to a lack of care — at least not on our part.

Usually, a dam does not break in the middle; it is in the least visible area that everything happens. Pressure deepens, storms raise the volume, and the years gnaw at the structure through erosion. The moment the internal mass exerts its final force against the limit of tolerance, violence spills outward, carrying everything in front of it into collapse.

Does that sound familiar?

We are all born evil. The just man builds barriers to ration his strength out of goodness. Yet the same man who learned when it is fitting to place a leash on his hatred also knows the exact moment to release it, directing hell toward those who were not content with heaven.