Evil
How is it possible to talk about evil and to not judge? Intuitively I know that evil exists. I have seen it. Felt it. Experienced it. I also have been utterly taken by it. I have believed that certain things have been evil, only to have a massive change of heart later in life (don't laugh, but Lord of the Rings fits into this category for me). How do I not take on as my job to decide what is evil, but still take a stand when I see it? Should I ignore calling things bad, because I may be wrong? I have seen how good intentions have destroyed people, groups and nations. This only has been magnified when it has been the church that has led these movements against evil. But doesn't it have to be true that some things are simply not right? And that there are times to take a stand?
I love superhero stories. Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, the X-Men, Daredevil, the list goes on and on. The theme that takes me in is good vs evil. Men and women, not willing to sit idly by and watch the innocent be destroyed. I want my life to be lived in a similar manner. I want to stand against evil, not for my own ego (at least I hope that is not my goal), but so that evil will not be able to destroy. I know that when loneliness consumes a person, and they are taken in by the little lies in their head about how worthless they are, that is evil. I know that when someone works 40 hours a week in back-breaking labor and cannot feed their family, that which works against them is evil. And I know that the reasons these examples and millions like them exist, is because the world that we live in is not what it was intended to be. That it has been corrupted by what is evil. And I know that when I am apathetic to that condition, when I simply stop caring, that is evil inside of me.
But how can I ever trust me own fervor? On what level can I believe that even know when or how to fight the evil that I know exists, yet can often be hard to find? To be honest I wish I had a Joker, Magneto or Green Goblin to point at and say "you are evil!". Instead I am given two unsettling realities, 1) that this worlds enemy is not flesh and blood and 2) that if I want to find evil, I have to look no further than myself. I cannot ever separate myself fully from evil, and I can never separate anyone else from the potential to be good. After all, I know from experience that I am capable of so many awful things and I know from faith that even the "worst" person I know is created in the image of a perfect and good God.
So I will examine evil the best way I know how, by studying villains. I am going to write about my favorite "bad guys". Characters like Magneto or Lex Luthor. How are they unsettling like us. And where does it all go wrong?
1 comment:
Ok. Post numero dos. I just wanna make sure everything is clear when we talk about Magneto. I hate to say this sometimes (often for fear of being called a loser and other times for fear of being called evil), but Magneto is a personal hero of mine (and for the EXACT same reasons we talked about earlier). I just don't wanna see him be lumped in with LL and those other douchebags. Because you KNOW that he is above that (even if he is fake.........man, we are lame. haha). So, as the study continues, you better make a very good indication of the different types of evil. Types in which the LL character is the kind of evil that is inherent in men, but comes out through unhealthy competition; and others in which the Magneto character is the type that believes in peace, but will sacrifice his faith in others to attain peace for a select few. I could say more, and I do want to get together again to discuss this again (we are dorks, aren't we?), but I just feel I haveta defend my boy. Magneto represents parts of myself that I fear to be in two ways- the a)unforgiving cruelty (which is easy) and b) complete security in my conviction. From there, there is no looking back.
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