One For Many

There is an old dilemma that pervades the writing culture of modern societies' books. The ideal is that it’s wrong to stop the bad guy, even unto death. The belief that it is better for the bad guy to stop, end innocents instead of stopping the villain.

Although books are just books, there is a saying that what we read is what we become. The point of the saying is not that we necessarily become what we read, but we will inadvertently take on some of the qualities of the books we read. It’s point of views will and can change us.

While seemingly harmless, if we believe that letting innocents die is okay when we could do something; one shakes their head. The sad fact is that people might not be able to see this. In fact, people might justify their actions, and saying killing is wrong. But the irony is, by choosing to do nothing, they helped kill someone. Making them more of accomplices to the crime, because by doing nothing, someone died. Choosing one over the many, so that one could kill the many.

For example the murder of Kitty Genovese which some claim as myth. However, for the point of example, it shows perfectly the by stander affect. With Kitty Genovese, one man murdered her. However, the rest of the street helped. They did nothing. She banged from door to door, pleading for help. All to no avail. People let her die.

Fact is, by doing nothing they let her be murdered. By refusing to take action they took action. Action that helped her murderer end her.

In the same manner, by fictional characters refusing to stop the bad guy to save innocents they are helping kill innocents. By not ending someone who wishes to end others they are responsible for their deaths. Knowing that someone will escape to hurt others and not choosing to stop them when they know that nothing will hold this villain they are choosing to kill. They are choosing to kill not the one person responsible for everything, but those who are innocent.

While one may have been talking about a fictional problem and fictional ideal, this ideas bleed into people’s head. Yes they are fiction, and prisons in general keep dangerous people and moral dilemmas are never really a dilemma but just closed mind thinking. However, it’s important to note that villains need to be stopped whether it be through death or change.

Life is precious, so much so that others must change or be gone if they are to affect many others. It’s not so much so that killing is the way, but rather that, stopping the bad guy is important. Furthermore, there are many ways to stop a bad guy, killing is just the laziest. Nevertheless, whatever happens, taking action is important, and even if it seems that we don’t choose, by choosing to do nothing we are choosing in fact.