Good vs. evil, sincerity vs. dissimulation

A recent trip to the public library led me to Paulo Coehlo’s The Devil and Miss Prym, which so far, has provoked me to re-examine the idea of man’s inherent goodness or 'evil-ness.' That given a specific set of circumstances, man will and can choose the evil option. I would really like to think otherwise. It’s just that 'bad-ness' has become mainstream and taking time to discern as well as follow one’s conscience seem to have become outdated. I hope I’m wrong.

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Today’s reflection by Francis Fernandez (In Conversation with God vol. 7--Feast of St. Bartholomew)  includes sincerity and the virtue of simplicity. “We need to be truthful and sincere in our ordinary relations with others...Closely related to sincerity is simplicity...Opposed to this virtue is affectation in words and deeds, the wish to stand out, pedantry, an air of sufficiency, or boasting...The simple person does not get muddled or complicated.”