I was going to make a quick post on the new Batman movie, but that can wait. Watching the movie made me think of other things.
Earlier post is in Bold print, newer thoughts are in the regular type.
Things like if doing good makes things go bad, are you still doing good, are you in the right?
Heroes in movies are always trying to do good and the right thing. It doesn’t always work out for them. We see that in everyday life too. We try to do what is right, or good, and sometimes the way things work out, a different path should have been chosen. We can tend to dwell on this, constantly asking “What if?”. Dwelling the “should ofs” and “could ofs” will inhibit our chances of make the correct choices on later issues. We can’t always be assured that doing the right thing, means things will turn out good for us. Sometimes being right is worth the effort, no matter what the outcome.
What would it take to go from good to bad, or bad to good? Is it that big of a difference?
This is something I have some experience with. I know exactly how far I can be pushed. It isn’t so much of going from good to bad, but it is going from easy going to violent or fairly relaxed to a nervous wreck. Major events in ones life can do a number on how you behave. You think beforehand that you know how you will react, but once in the situation, you did something you never would have believed possible. For me those experiences revolve around protecting the weak and innocent, and protecting and loving my family and friends. Since I have been in these situations more than once, I know I would put my own health/welfare on the line if anyone I care about is in trouble. This is something deeply ingrained in who I am. I also know that if pushed too far, I could fall apart. I’ve been close to that too.
At what point do you have too much power?
My feelings is that you can have too much power, when power is your goal. I’ve always found that the people who handle power the best, are the ones that really don’t want it in the first place.
What sort of circumstance would break your will? What would drive you forward? What would stop you dead in your tracks?
I had a daughter in a very serious car accident. I did things I never thought I could do. At the time it was the most difficult life experience I ever had. Just the possibility of losing a child brought me to the brink of stopping my dead in my tracks, but I pushed through and drove forward. Not much more than a year after that, my wife was told she had cancer. 1 1/2 months later it would take her life. This loss was almost to great for me. Even with my children needing me, I almost fell apart. They pulled me back from the abyss. This was something that broke my will. If my girls had not been there, or I had people pushing me in a different direction, the person I am today would not be around. Frightening thought is that I don’t know who or even if I would be today. There are things that happen, that will change the person you are today. Sometimes for the good, sometimes not. I never take abrupt changes in behavior for granted any more.
Glad for your disclaimer in the title – I wouldn’t have read your post otherwise – I don’t want to read reviews until after I’ve had a chance to write my own.
Different shades… bad for the sake of being bad? Killing for the sake of killing or unintentionally causing harm for a greater good. These questions have been around for eons I don’t think there can be a simple answer. One of the things that everyone struggles with at least once in their life. That which drives me most is my faith and trust and the support of those I admire most. Not entirely sure what would cause me to break my will and hope I am never faced with that choice.
Tough questions indeed. If good things go bad, just remember God is in control! The devil likes to muck about with our lives. To go from good to bad, it’s as simple as going from God to self, that is from doing things for God to doing things for self. You have too much power when it comes from the world and not from God.
As for the last set of questions, that does depend on the person. When your will is about to be broken, who is doing the breaking? If God, then let it be broken. If not, call out to God for strength. I wish I knew what would actually drive me forward with my life- letting go and giving the reigns of my life to God I guess- easier said than done. As for stopping dead in my tracks? When I start moving forward I can have an answer to this one- I’ve been stopped for too long. Holding onto the past maybe?
Well, I hope I wasn’t too spiritual for the philosophical questions! 🙂
derek, I guess because of the good/evil aspect of the questions, bringing the spiritual in is most appropriate. Not exactly the path I was taking, but thought provoking to be sure.
jamiahsh, I’m not sure I even wanted to go do the bad/evil for the sake of being bad/evil. While that was in the show, it didn’t hit me the same way.
Now I do have to edit the main post and expand on what I was thinking.