Musing: The Good, The Bad, and Morgan Freeman

Sometimes, I have difficulty starting these off. My mother thinks that Denzel Washington is a stud. Well, that was a start. Kind of. Personally, I find Denzel OK at best; I much prefer Morgan Freeman. Let's be honest, Denzel doesn't get the phone call to play God, it's Morgan all the way. But again, that's neither here nor there. But it's a start nonetheless. Wow, that word looks strange. In case you couldn't tell, the discussion pieces I have in mind are akin to snow flurries in a fierce blizzard. So, I'll take a deep breath and try to make sense out of my snowglobe mind. Maybe when everything settles to the floor I will be able to see again.

First of all, I was told recently that it makes me "pathetic" to take pride in my appearance, and that I am nothing more than a poseur in my "colorful scarves" and "big sunglasses." And additionally, that wearing said garments along with an occasional skirt make me a "slut." Same person said that my desire to someday live in a larger city is also "pathetic" and said that I'll wind up alone because I value being successful and my "image" more than I do others. And to that I say, I don't even wear big sunglasses!

But I jest. My actual response (Granted, this was all sent to me in text message and internet-message form, so the blow was quite softened by my incredulity that someone would have the gumption to assassinate my character via the web)? Well, I didn't have one. It wasn't worth it to me. I could have dished back several catty and bitchy one liners (I should be good at those because I am one, apparently), but that would have meant having to suffer the throes of even more miserable belligerent bashings. Although, I did want to respond when said person told me that I "ruin peoples lives," but again, not worth it. And to be honest, I don't think I should be given that much credit. I don't actually think that many people should, except for maybe Adolph Hitler, Robert Mugabe, and Kim Jong Il. However, I must admit that I haven't written mein own Kampf (ha), I don't starve others, I don't kill others, and I'm not currently creating my own nukes. So please, spare me the ruination characteristic. While I appreciate honesty, I loathe dramatics. I'm not morally devoid, and I don't have an evil sounding name...it could never work even if I tried.

I could delve into why that subject even arose, but that would mean that I would know why I was subject to the incessant buzzing of my cell phone, and the arsenal of "pops" that were fired on to my facebook page. The most I can muster is that said person was upset with a decision, or series of decisions, I suppose, that I made, and therefore I am a monster. But changing one's mind and making mistakes doesn't make one a monster, it makes one human. Unless you're Frankenstein. Then you're fucked.

Suffice it to say, the buzzing has ceased, and the pops have silenced (I was swiftly and soundly deleted, how gratifying that must have felt), but one thing does linger in the back of my "cold and calculating" mind: what makes someone bad? And for that matter, what makes someone good?

I have a list compiled for your pleasure.

GOOD: Honest, Respectful, Responsible, Kind
BAD: Dis- to everything listed above (to which the prefix is applicable, mind you), then the antonym of the rest.

But, my dilemma is here: in certain instances, any of my "good" attributes can be "bad." For example, I'm generally an honest person, but my "honesty" can be taken as "blunt" and "cruel." If one is respectful to a "bad" person, and allows them to be "bad" and engage in said behavior, how does that make you good? And, you can be a bad person and be responsible. And kindness can involve dishonesty. Well yes, that skintight velour pantsuit looks great on you, Suze. Yeah, go for the rhinestone-monogrammed rear, that's fantastic!

See?

While I'm a bit of a cynic, I don't necessarily agree with Hobbes in his notion that life is nasty, brutish, and short, and that we're all born these wicked individuals. I do think we're given certain circumstances at birth, but we free-thinking individuals are able to make choices. And yes, people make bad ones occasionally. But does that make their person bad, or was it the choice that was bad? There is no such thing as a "universal," dude.

I also find that whenever someone is "bad," it is a reaction to a "bad" act placed upon them. Maybe I wouldn't have received a plethora of harassing messages had I not hurt them, and maybe I wouldn't have hurt them had I not been hurt the same way before. And that makes me wonder if there is such a thing as a bad person, but rather a world of broken people trying to cope and protect their own wounds.

I don't think that we are inherently bad, but I don't necessarily think we are born good either. Blank. Tabula rasa, if you will. Gravity gets us down, things inevitably fall and break, and occasionally scrape us in the process. It's how you mend the scrape that matters.