When did we forget?
Lucas: “Seems like
once we have seen the worst there can be, somebody comes up with something
worst.”
Good and Evil has
never been black and white, but there are clearly things that are wrong. All
the tragedy that I have seen in this past few weeks has made me ask myself a
lot of questions. It appears that humanity at some level is fascinated with
evil but shouldn’t good always win at the end. I mean that is what we are
thought since we are kids. A sort of universal law exists in TV shows, movies,
books, comics, stories where no matter how horrifying and powerful evil may
seem, good always prevails. This message is aimed at kids, young children,
teenagers and even adults. As we grow up we learn from the same media that
while good may still prevail it comes at a price, there is a sacrifice. Just
take a look at any comic book, superhero movie, good always wins even if it is
at a cost. We are taught to be good, to uphold good, to be heroes, to fight
evil and to avoid falling into darkness. We aspire to be the hero form these
stories. When did we forget to be the good guy and maintain right? When did we
forget to keep away from the hands of darkness and to live by a set of morals?
When did we become the villains? Good and
evil aren’t so distinguishable sometimes, but we still know what is wrong. It
continues to confuse me how we can forget about such basic human rules and
ethics, how we can lose ourselves in anger, fear. It should be a reminder that
while we may be in an area of grey we can still be right, just need to avoid
the wrong. When right and wrong is difficult to identify, when it is a struggle
between right and wrong, it is when the real hero fights hardest.
I was watching as
always Girl Meets World and well the school principal comes into the classroom
and dismisses the new English teacher because she decides to teach the class
the graphic novel/comic book “The Dark Knight Returns”. He believes it is not
real literature, that nothing valuable can be learned from them. He fires her
without letting her explain her lesson plan. He is wrong isn’t he? He is making
assumptions about comic books without getting to know the content within them
or listening to counter arguments.
Principal: “You think there are
heroes and villains, there aren’t. Just kids that come and go. You really think that you have affected
anybody?”
Take a look at any
history book there are always heroes and villains through out. Take a look at
your class, at your school, at your office, at your work, there are heroes and
villains. The villains will always cause trouble, but there will always be a
hero to fight back. When did we forget that to be a hero we need to be fair and
avoid becoming a villain? Revenge shootings, murder sprees, bombing, that’s not
a hero. We need heroes now. Nightwing, the Atom, Ant-man, Batman what do they
all have in common? They are just regular people like you and me who refuse to
stand by and let more evil take over the world. They fight to keep us safe,
they fight for what they believe is good and stand up when they see injustice.
It is time we do the same. They also refuse to become villains in their search
for being heroes. What makes the teacher in this episode a hero is that she
fights to stay in the school and show that her teachings are valuable, that
people can learn from comic books. She fights oppression and stereotyping with
determination to prove she is right. At no point does she insult, or attack the
principle. We have every right to be angry
against the people who caused so much death and harm but to wish them death or
to take violent revenge action like what happened with the shooting against the
police who have nothing to do with what happened before does not make us any
better than them. Doing something like raise awareness about stereotyping,
racism, trying to stop by informing people that is is wrong, by calling for
action from the police to improve their training of cops, donations, that makes
a difference. To stand against stereotyping, racism it makes a difference. I
want to remind people that we can be heroes, that we can stand for what is
right. In these times of anger, hatred, sadness and tragedy a light of hope
still can shine, we need to be reminded of why we looked up to our role models.
Of course one of the
main arguments for you reading this is probably that heroes resort to violence
to stop villains, that the people who commit these horrifying acts are, from
their point of view fighting for what they believe to be right. You would be right;
some believe that what they are doing is the right thing which is why I ask
when did we forget basic human values. Regardless of where we are raised we
should all know that there are some clear lines in the sand, murder is never an
option. A hero doesn’t cross the line to prove that they are fighting the good
fight.
I want to leave you
with this conversation from the show because it made me think about the world
we live in. How some things aren’t fair or they may seem that way, but fighting
the good fight is still worth it even if we think we may never win.
Mathew: “We live in a
different world today where heroes and villains aren’t so easily
distinguished/recognised. She can help them learn this lesson.”
Topanga: “The World
isn’t so different that the principal doesn’t get to make the final decision on
the new teacher.”
Mathew: “Yeah, that is
interesting isn’t it.”
