Editorial: Balance

Last night, as it is every night, found me awake at 12:20 in the morning with no desire for rest. I switched on the television and noticed that The Dark Knight was playing. I was fortunate enough to catch the last 10 minutes of it, and witness a scene that would deeply impact my mind; enough that I felt the need to translate my thoughts to proper prose so as to impart my thoughts with others.

In the finals scenes of The Dark Knight, Jim Gordon and Batman are engaged in a standoff with Harvey Dent, now Two-Face, over the fate of Gordon's son. Dent tells the two "We though we could be decent men in indecent times. We were wrong." This line has such a profound and heavy philosophical payload that the scriptwriter is to be commended. Two-Face, to me, is the sanest criminal in Batman's age old history of crime fighting. It was brought to my attention that, in the most basic sense of the religion, he is a student of Taoism. He is the one man who understands clearly what true balance is. He embodies all that is good, pitted against all that is bad, in one never ending struggle. To put it plainly, Two-Face is every human being alive. The only difference is, where our struggle is an internal one that we hide behind smiles and busy schedules, Harvey Dent’s fight is etched upon his face for the entire world to see.

Which leads to the topic of this editorial. Our world is a world of two faces; of contradiction, hypocrisy, truth and lies, all pitted together on a giant cosmic balance beam. The truth of the matter is that there is no certainty here. Indeed, the only certainty in life lies in the fact that certainty is nonexistent. All things shift, change. This world is an ever evolving world, and we are but transient guests. The question, then, is why? Why do we continue to try to advance, progress, and carve a place in a history that will eventually be but a faint whisper of a memory? Allow me to explain. A colleague of mine often tells me of his striving to be and remain "a righteous man". Not merely in a religious sense, but a man who aspires to live a physically, mentally, and emotionally wholesome life. It is an aspect of his character that I respect most highly, and aspire to emulate. However, we have frequently discussed the futility of this endeavor. The question is, at one point does one realize that we are attempting to be decent men in indecent times? At what point do we realize that despite all our attempts, all our advances, the world will remain a chaotic and largely un-righteous place? And once we accept this fact, why do we still continue? Time and time again, I sacrifice time, sweat, blood and tears in acts of selflessness. Why, when being selfish is so much more rewarding? What's the point of getting an actual job instead of robbing and stealing when corporate execs get away with murder (figuratively speaking, but literally as well)?


The question began with Two Face, and the answer lies in him as well.


Balance.


We do what we do; we strive to be better despite the harsh truth of our existence, because it is about balance. I will continue to be a righteous person, because, essentially, I am neither bad nor good. I have often said that I am devoid of a sense of morality. That is not true. I merely am at peace with myself. There are times to bask in darkness, and moments to bathe in light. What defines us is how we balance both sides of the coin. Live your lives for the sake of yourselves. Go in search of your own personal equilibrium. Once you find it, you will be at peace with your actions, whether they be good or bad.


We are decent men (and women) in indecent times. And we will continue to be so. Because, in the grand scheme of things, when our darkest failures are pitted against our brightest victories, the scales will be even.


Balance.

Editor's note: Previously written on July 9^th, 2010, I posted this in dedication to a close friend of mine who is going through some emotional problems, and with whom I had discussed the issue of finding balance in our lives. I hope he finds it.