Only Sith deal in absolutes.

*high 5 sighsnoodles*

MadMonk you don't mince words. So I used to be a Sith and now I'm a ......? (I don't know everything Star Wars. Don't be disgusted with me.)

jeanct62, Monk is a Star Wars nut (along with Sighs). Since I am not a fanatic, I know few lines. I think that since he has a new baby, the best line one could use to respond to most things he says is :
"Get in there you big furry oaf, I don't care what you smell!"

You must be a Jedi now!

I think you are on to something. I think in the 1970's the prevalent view was good guys v. bad guys. Throughout the 1980's until now, the general public has adapted to a more complex view of people. Look at "My Name is Earl". He isn't good or bad, nor is anyone else on the show, except for Darlene. Or Law and Order VIU -- they go out of their way to show the moral struggles of the characters.

I think there has been a shift to portray characters with a more complex mixture of good and evil.

So where would you place Michael Scott (from The Office) on the scale of good and evil?

I can't even think of him without giggling. I don't know how they keep a straight face on that set.

Anything that comes out of Hollwood is probably not the best first source of meaning when it comes to understanding ethics.,,, or anything else, come to that (I added that last bit after taking some minutes to think of something positive to say about Hollywood's creepy effusions).

I think in the 1970's the prevalent view was good guys v. bad guys.

I'm not sure this is entirely true.

Before Tony Soprano came Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry character. The first movie featuring Dirty Harry was released in 1970.

I think things started changing in the 60's after the civil rights movement, the death of JFK and MLK and the Vietnam war of course.

jeanct62

Hi

You wrote:

I watched the movie "Batman Begins" after my son rented it.

That is the best "Batman" film by far. It does a good job of dealing with the tension between doing justice and doing vengeance.

The next best "Batman" film is "Mask of the Phantasm" for much the same reason. The films with Kilmer and Clooney are worse than the series with Adam West and Burt Ward. The first film with Keaton was interesting although once you kill the Joker what is the point of Batman? The second film with Keaton was a disapointment and they killed of the Penguin. The guy had a huge rogue's gallery but you can't kill the big guns without diminishing the hero.

At any rate.

Movies are paying more attention to character development. It seems we are interested in heroes whose hats might be a dirty shade of white or villains who have really just lost track with the reality they loved.

Bit more human and accessible.

Grey is in.

Grace and peace to you.

John

Grey is a very good color.

Few people are pure good or pure evil. Most exist on a continuum, a line between good and evil. This is part of the human nature. That said, a big part of the Christ message is to work hard at being more good; to work at being better.

Interestingly, when tested, most people believe they are FAR more moral than they actually are. Those who believe that humans are by nature evil ... they too are wrong. Humans are what we are and that is COMPLEX!

As for the Batman Returns movie. I enjoyed it. The whole Batman series, for those who remember the comics, is dark and brooding. The character is complex, moody and shows the struggle between good and evil. This movie therefore comes close to reflecting the original intent of the authors.

I think society has made the bad guys less bad and more misunderstood. The good guys are less perfect more human. Do I like this? I don't know. Maybe they were trying to appeal to people to become good guys or heroes by making being a good guy more attainable.

I too believe that there are such beautiful shades of grey out there...

However, I'm getting a little tired of the media portraying people who commit crimes as the victim. Recently(december 7) in Manitoba (winnipeg specifically) there were three police officers shot during the implementation of a drug warrent. Two were very seriously shot and needed emergency surgery and are still in the hospital. One was shot in the hand and possibly has lost that hand and one in the abdomen and is still in stable but guarded condition. The media is saying that the guy who was hiding in the bathroom with a shotgun and shot through the closed door panicked because he was attacked once at a bar. He didn't realize the swat team was coming into the home and so he left his girlfriend and mother out there and started shooting through the closed door randomly. The police have issued that they were yelling "police" and many neighbours have confirmed this. Not to mention I'm pretty sure that you know when a swat team is coming into your home.

The whole point of this is that there are media reports that sympathize with this guy and all these stories are coming out with picutres that he drew when he was six for his dad etc etc etc. He gets to be the victim. He almost killed 3 police officers. To me this is very wrong. It is good to empathize with peoples past experiences but it is being taken somewhat to an extreme as well.

What is good? What is bad? It is interesting times we live in. l used to be in jail. For a long time too. My crimes were bank robberies, alot of them.

Drug and alcohol addiction kept me down. l met a friend in solitary confinement after nearly a year. His name is Jesus Christ. You might think he's not real.

l really wanted to die and felt hopeless. But its been just over ten years since l drank or did drugs. l still feel like a reject. l don't have alot of friends - fear of being judged.

However l have this friend named Jesus and l tell him everything. Jesus has looked after every need in my life.

l might be a bad guy in some peoples eyes for all past deeds. But l found a great guy named Jesus.

l have gone to churches, but still feel like its not my home.

l lost my mother when l was young, seven years old and was fatherless.

Raised in foster homes, juvenile jails and so forth.

l really did the best l could.

l am really sorry for all the people l hurt. Its why l don't hurt people anymore.

l got on my knees and prayed to Jesus............l need his help so badly. Guess l was bad or in a bad condition. Does this all make sense. Today l still live on faith.

If you looked at my life from the outside , looks quite good perhaps.

But inside l live from moment to moment. Prayer to prayer. Praise to praise.

l have my own bible. l really love my bible. Its beautiful. Inside theres alot of nice things...comfort ....from my pain.

When l see those terrorists in iraq or other places - l can understand the pain. They really have nothing. l have been there. l am blessed....l found Jesus. its really all l have today.......One important day it is all l will need. l found that realization when l was in a hole(solitary confinement). God have mercy on my soul and save me from sin. Jesus forgive me for the sinner that l am - COme into my life what is left of it. Me , Jesus, and the Bible - l was no more lonely.

l must sound pathetic, perhaps Freak of Jesus.

l feel like Jesus understands me in my soul, in my heart.

l could not live in this world without Jesus. l am a free man today, but l serve Jesus Christ my saviour, my friend. my rock. l might be bad, but l have a good freind.

l love Jesus

Roman

Roman a beautiful story Roman I am very happy for you. May the Our Lord Jesus Christ be constantly with you and guide and keep you.

Good guys wear white hats and bad guys wear black ones ...easy.

Roman,
that is very honest and brave of you to tell part of your story. I agree that we live in a very judgemental society. I'm sorry that you feel somewhat removed from everyone because of a past life that you led. I truly believe that people have the ability to turn their lives around (or I wouldn't be in social services!) and I think that you could learn to be a little less hard on yourself. Hopefully you can accept yourself and be proud of the changes that you have made. Goodluck with everything.

Daisy

Roman: Congratulations! It sounds as though you're living a new life, guided by the love of Jesus. You don't sound pathetic to me. You may have, in the past, but you don't now. It must have been very hard for you as a child, to loose both your parents. Have you ever had any help in healing the pain of your childhood, besides what you've found from Jesus? I lost my father as a teen but lived many years with him and his manic depression. Later in my life, with counselling, I learned that I hadn't been able to have a "normal" childhood. I was taught to connect with the child within me and nurture it.

You asked about good and bad. I looked both words up in the dictionary. I concluded that all people must have the potential for good and bad. If we can learn good values and feel we are good people, we may be more inclined to make good choices for our lives. Making good choices would have to do with love, I think - loving ourselves and showing compassion to others. Sometimes our values can get twisted and confused and we can hurt others. The Bible can be a good place to learn about love (1 Corintians 13 for instance). I'm glad you've decided to let the good in you rule your life now, rather than the bad.

I hope you can conquer your fear to be able to share your love and friendship with others. That's another way we can learn about love. When we interact with other people, we can get hurt but we can also experience love, which can take away our pain. Be brave and patient. People may be hesitant to get to know you at first and may even judge you but if you can show them all the good you have in your heart, they may begin to accept you, in time. Perhaps not all - you have to accept that - but some will. Remember, Jesus will be with you. In many places in the Bible, it says, "Fear not". Hopefully you will find a church where you can feel at home. Keep searching. Never stop asking questions.

It must have been very difficult for you to go through the withdrawal from alcohol and drugs so long ago. You must be very strong minded to be able to stay clean for 10 years. Be proud of that! And continue to take your health seriously. Have you been able to find work which you find is satisfying?

Thank you for sharing your story, with all its painful memories. I hope you will be able to find peace in your heart. Don't think of yourself as bad. Think of yourself as a good person, who did bad things. In the Bible, Jesus shared that the second most important commandment, after loving God, is to love one another as we love ourselves. You must love yourself before you can love others. Focus on the positive future you can make for yourself, and not the past. It will always be with you, I know. You have been hurt tragically as a child and you have hurt others. But it sounds as though you intend to live a life of repentance and that's wonderful. I think that the more pain we endure, the more compassion we can have for others, through empathy. You've been given another chance at your life. That's something to celebrate!

For me, Jesus is not a person living right now, physically. But he is real for me; he can be with me in my heart by way of his message of hope, trust and love.

Keep the faith! Stay optimistic!

Daisy13: I can hear your frustration and I've felt it myself! (I shared some of my thoughts about justice under the blog "No time for Pedophiles".) There are too many questions and not enough answers. I think some of the media does what it has to do to get attention. And they sensationalize in order to do this. Or spin the story a certain way. Do you think this is what's happening here? What a sad story for those police officers and their loved ones. I hope they pull through okay. They deserve a huge amount of honour when they serve the public at such risk. It's a very dangerous job - especially when drugs are involved. That's why there's such a big push around here for gun control. Guns are always part of the equation when gangs or drugs are involved and it's difficult to protect the public. (That's another topic though).

Atheisto: What about the ones who don't wear hats?: )