I recently poked around on the Dark Web. I wanted to see what the fuss is about. In case you don’t
know what Dark Web is, think of it this way. The normal internet is what is
called the Clear Web. That’s like the
first floor of a house. In the basement is the Deep Web, which is a network of sites that don’t appear in searches
of the Clear Web, but which consist mainly of databases, often maintained by
governments. Below the basement is a tunnel through which flows sewage. It’s
the Dark Web.
Here you can find invitations to the slimiest commerce. You can
search out hitmen. Don’t want to kill anyone, but just want to ruin their
lives? Well, you can find someone who will for a fee, payable in bitcoin of
course, frame them to look like pederasts. Yes, they will be discovered to be
harboring illegal child porn on their computers. Or maybe you want to watch
someone being tortured. That gives you the idea. Hacks, hits, and heists can be
arranged via the Dark Web.
My tour of the Dark Web was very brief. There is only so
much shock (but not awe) to which I want to be subjected. I realized, through
the experience, that I have overlooked the ugliness of this world. I used to
note the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” that parallel Jesus’ prediction of miseducation,
war, famine, and plagues (Luke 21:8-11) were seen around the world, and I
thought no wonder the guy who wrote about those conditions ended his book with
a prayer to his Lord to come back to earth. What else could possibly fix the
problems?
Then, I slowly began to notice that such conditions were
improving. I briefly summarized my observations at http://gordonfeil.blogspot.com/2019/08/pros-and-cons-of-multi-national-business.html.
War is waning. Famine is fleeing. Pestilences are perishing. The world is
getting better. Life is what we make of it. It doesn’t need to be bad.
My foray into the online sewer reminded me that life isn’t
good for many people. It’s terror. It’s bleak. It’s hopeless. I was reminded
that it is unlikely man is going to fix this world so that it is a place of
peace for everyone. There is evil here, preying on the innocent, and in some
cases growing evil from the innocence. I am reminded of the words attributed to
the apostle Peter, exclaiming “what manner of people” we ought to be “hastening
the day of God.” I am reminded of Jesus instructing his students to pray “Your
kingdom come.” Yeah, my excursion into the Dark Web was sad and disgusting.
