Portraying the Human condition

I must say that one of the greatest influences on my writing has been historical people, occurrences, and mythologies. When you look at history through an unfettered eye, you will probably see what I see which are individuals that are so much more interesting than any fiction can produce. And there are so many of them. Just the other day I was reading about the exploits of the Roman Emperor Nero. Now, I know he wasn't the nicest person who ever existed but he was extremely interesting. I mean, who else could be dancing and playing a lyre while the very city he lived in, and ruled, was burning to the ground? I don't know why but it's usually the 'Bad Apples' of history that I pay attention to most often.
The Dark ages are also very thought provoking. The whole period was essentially based on ignorance and fear and the more I study that period I can almost see the parallels we have today. And I guess that is what I'm trying to do sometimes. To try and portray the human condition the way that I see how it is. Not necessarily how others want to show it. Essentially the human condition can be, truthfully, rather ugly. At least that's the way that I see it. When you break through all superficial barriers and get to the absolute core of it, you see a species that would rival any Hollywood monster or villain with ease.
So, in essence, my stories, showcasing the very worst in mankind's nature, are just a mirror of what I see in the world. They are usually callous, brutal, and malevolent. But before anyone reads them, I always include a moral at the beginning. That way they can at least try to make sense of the story more so than I can make sense of the grotesque realities of the world.