sentences and the abolition of parole, for gun control and therninvoluntary confinement of the mentally disturbed. However,rnthese events also reinforce a lesson from the study of serialrnkillers, that at least a few individuals are not simply dysfunctionalrnor improperly socialized, that their crimes may resultrnfrom a profound schism with the ordinary run of humanity:rnperhaps from a form of “inner darkness.”rnWe may not wish to speak of evil and might find it useful tornreturn to a pseudoscientific concept like Jung’s “shadow,” butrnit is imperative to recognize the reality and force of the phenomenon,rnand perhaps even its presence in all of us. In thernhorrifying news footage of the Los Angeles rioting, and specificallyrnof the attack on Reginald Denny, it became glaringly apparentrnhow very close to the surface of civilized behavior lie thernmost primitive and animalistic instincts to kill and destroyrnonce the restraints of government and law are removed. Andrnas in the case of serial killers, the Denny attack involved a completerndehumanization of the victim and a reduction of violencernto a form of symbolic game or sport. Lest it be thought thatrnthese savage qualities have any racial dimension, the Denny examplernonly recapitulated the lessons so often taught by the collectivernsadism involved in racially motivated lynchings in thernearly decades of this century.rnVery rarely is the language of sin or evil invoked in the contextrnof crime by any “official” source—^whether politicians, administrators,rnacademics, or the mass media—and yet the flourishingrnmythology of serial murder shows the thirst for suchrninterpretations in popular discourse. Elite and popular responsesrnto crime and violence are divided by an intellectual andrncultural chasm of perhaps insuperable proportions. Consequently,rnpolicies toward crime and justice will continue to bernmade in a thoroughly unsystematic and unplanned way, withrnthe richest rewards falling to the most crowd-pleasing measuresrnthat legislative demagogues can devise.rnWhen the 20th century began, it was obvious to all educatedrnpeople that this would be a great age of science and enlightenment.rnAs this bleak age slouches towards its conclusion,rnit is clear that science has failed either to understand or tornsubdue the beast within humanity and that the highest formrnof enlightenment might be to admit this fact. At the very least,rnlet us agree on the failure of language to offer an acceptable terminologyrnfor the beast, the darkness, for whatever metaphor wernchoose to employ for that intuitively obvious reality. If notrn”evil,” what? crnCoRCYRA MEMORANDArn” H ords changed their ordhmry meamngs and were constrned hi new senses. Recklessrndan’ng passed for the courage of a loyal partisan, far-sighted hesitation was the excusernof a coward, moderation was the pretext of the unmanlv, the power to see all sides ofrna question was complete inability to act. Impulsive rashness was held the mark ot arnman, caution in conspiracy was a specious excuse for avoiding action.”rn—ThucvdidcsrnIf a Cole 1 Cold War corrupts, its cessation corrupts absolutch. The Cold War imposed at least a fcar-iiidurnf-rcstraint, a salutar niodcstx that there ma be no ictors. Its ending, ho\eer, lias led to l)oasrnogance in both protagonists. In Russia, there is /liirinosk, and the phenomenon nia spawn otrnni-dcmagogues. On this side of the ocean, there arc the Janet Renos, the ga brigades, and a Quernninuinitx school board that wanted to pass a resolution last ear |3roclaiming that “American cultuirn•ad and uiiqucstionabK su|)erior to all foreign or historical cultures.” Accordnig to a tale inrnnieland, onlx the illa”e idiot asks for official certification that he is a “cuius. Lake Count in I’loirnu|)en()nt <)ei |)ress. I liernsrameci-t’iassrnIrue, there are no reports et of a new amendment to the Constitution proclaiming Richard Kortx’srnsu|)eri()rit