What Motivates Insanity?

Here is my very loaded question tonight. What motivates insanity? What sort of mental abnormality has to be present for someone to do those certain things that the majority of the population would never consider? The dictionary defines insane as mentally deranged, crazy, of unsound mind. That is not helpful to me, as I am sure there is no way to tell an insane person from a sane one, before the insane one acts out. It is truly mind boggling. There are basic principles engraved in my head, the difference between good and evil, right and wrong, and the ability to act based on these principles. I didn't need a belief in any one God or religion to bestow such a moral compass, I simply had to look into my own heart, and listen to it. It is when I look outward, at the chaos of the world, that I tend to get a little lost. I feel helpless when I hear about senseless murders, beaten children, people raped and ravaged.

It's one thing to pass moral judgement upon those who have committed these horrific acts, but what about those who are still in the process, those who are still planning? I've heard it said that the world needs evil, so that we can in turn recognize the good. That still doesn't explain why certain people are compelled to act evil in the first place. I suppose if you're religious, its easy enough to pass off as 'the hand of the devil', but in my opinion, that scenario has a counter of an Omnipotent being such as God, who should be able to lead people away from the path of the devil. So, from my point of view, you can believe that God sits back and lets people get used by the devil, to hurt, kill, maim and destroy, simply to prove the existence of good by use of evil. Or, borrow my train of thought. What if there is something fundamentally lacking from the brain of someone predisposed to become evil? Maybe those people cannot find it within themselves, the absolute knowledge of 'thou shalt not kill'. How about thou shalt not terrorize for fun, thou shall not willfully cause pain and suffering among other human beings. How can I figure this stuff out, when others cannot?

At one point, I thought that laws were in place to teach this sort of thing to those who were somehow incapable of figuring it out on their own, but I have since abandoned that theory. People are STILL doing horrible things, for any number of reasons. Innocent people are still getting murdered. Children are still getting beaten senselessly. People I love are being terrorized. Innocent kids have been left alone in fear. Its enough to make even the sanest person question all things. I will always have questions that don't have answers, but knowledge is infinite of course. Lets pretend, for just this late hour, that maybe a higher power DOES exist out there. "Excuse me, all knowing one? I get it. Evil exists, alive and well here on earth. I think everyone pretty much gets it. So, knowing that, can said evil somehow just take a week off? A day even? I promise I wont forget about it for even a second!"