Good Versus Evil

Why Good always wins in the end

             Good Versus Evil, Why good always wins in the end ..

Ever ponder why when there is the struggle of good vs evil, good always wins in the end?

I’m not just speaking about Hollywood endings or fables and fairytales. Although, why does Luke Skywalker champion over the evil Emperor? Why can a Hobbit defeat an evil and omnipotent wizard? How does a small nation defend itself from seemingly insurmountable odds (Vietnam, Afghanistan, Ukraine)?

I believe it is within our very  “Human Nature”. I believe it is fundamental and natural for us to believe in good. In the struggles of ideals, culture, willingness to sacrifice comfort for freedom, religious and moral doctrine versus our most base emotions of greed, hatred, the use of fear and the pursuit of power, I paraphrase Yoda, “the dark side is faster, easier” yet the side of light and virtue is harder but stronger.

In reality and fiction, time and time again, we see David defeat Goliath. I often wonder why demigods and dictators fail to understand that reality, and believe that somehow they are different than their predecessors. Why do they feel they alone are stronger than history? Hubris? Ego?? I suppose. After all, it takes a great deal of greed, hate, and energy to want to be a dictator. They are indeed misguided, and delusional, and ultimately alienate the people they aim to control. There is a saying “ absolute power corrupts absolutely” for a reason.

The truth is, and we should all breathe a very small sigh of relief,  that in the end and sometimes over a great deal of time and suffering, good prevails. I know what you are thinking, oh boy, too many Hollywood movies. Yes, that can be true but history will also bear me out; World wars I and II for example, the end of Apartheid, the destruction of the Berlin wall, the fall of the Soviet Union. And, Yes, sometimes it doesn’t, for instance, China’s invasion of Tibet, marauding African warlords, North Korea, Syria, and Iran. I will argue those sad exceptions to the rule will fail and fall in the end. How do I know? Because throughout history in the bitter end, good does triumph over evil. It is our legacy, our DNA, our truth, belief system and nature. If there was no belief in God, no laws of justice, and only a free for all melee in a post-apocalyptic time; good would still win out eventually. It is who we are, built in, we cannot help ourselves, it is what it means to be human.

Here's why? Dictators are singular, the people they subjugate are many and the many can overwhelm the few eventually. It becomes a numbers game. When critical mass is reached, we turn, we aim, and we fire. Demigods make the mistake of hubris. They believe they are above it all, better, smarter, and more powerful and that is usually their most often failing, underestimating their opponent.

For those who chalk up my theories to have watched too many blockbuster movies,  I answer, Hollywood isn’t prescient, or smarter, or controlling the narrative, feeding us what they want us to see and hear, they are a mirror of our collective thoughts, beliefs, hearts and souls. For example, The Marvel franchise’s grand success is based on giving us what we want to see, say it with me, good triumphing over evil. And these franchises are not just popular in the USA, they are global. Therefore, those same beliefs are pervasive globally. And although we hear so much bad news and in such large quantities and evil has so many sides, and players, it seems insurmountable, I still remain confident in my postulate, that in the end, Good wins. In the same universe were we have climate deniers and big oil and gas emerges Greta Thunberg and her followers. In a business where Harvey Weinstein flourished, we now have the #MeToo movement. There are always counter balances when evil grows large enough. It is not in our nature as communal human beings to allow injustice for too long and for too many, it is a way of life and belief and it is a global feeling. I have said it over and over again, we are more alike than not alike and the pendulum will always swing back and self-correct when it gets too much out of whack, even if it takes too long  (Slavery). Unfortunately, sometimes it leads to world war, and we hope we do not come to that again, but if it does grow too large, then it will be inevitable, in the end, we will seek Good over Evil. We hear about China wanting war, Russia involved in war, and Iran entering the war. Terrorism has continued to grow globally, and the USA is still way too divided.  Hate is having a moment, it is on the rise. Fear is being stoked, making escalating war and conflict almost inevitable and that keeps me up at night. As history has shown, unless hate is stopped, it grows. However, it is always met head on, it is just a matter of degrees and how much appeasement is done prior to that conflict. There is a factor of what we are willing to put up with. How far are we willing be pushed before things bubble over and action is initiated. It is a question of what we can tolerate. I like to think I am a person of love, tolerance, and forgiveness, but I am not a weak person and I am willing to fight for freedom, and justice for all. I believe in peace but I am also willing to be a warrior to keep it. I also believe appeasement leads to larger escalation later on. Perhaps, if we had stopped Putin when he invaded the Crimea, we would not be funding the war in Ukraine. Do we have the stomach to stand up to China in defense of Taiwan? Are we willing to make a greater effort to stem the tide of hate and division within our own country in favor of unity and compromise?  Again, I know there are many that will doubt my hypothesis and wave me off as a wide-eyed idealist. I counter that. What’s wrong with being an idealist? I end with a quote from one of my mentors and hero; "Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay it's not the end." by John Lennon