“Angry Eagle” by Jason Kotecki. 16 x 20. Oil on canvas.
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How do we make sense of the hateful violence, terror, and chaos we observe all around us?
Perhaps reflecting a bit upon fairy tales will help.
Star Wars and Harry Potter and The Lord of The Rings are the fairy tales of our age. They resonate with young and old alike, but why?
Simple.
It’s because they are true.
It might seem silly to claim stories of lightsabers and magic wands and Wookies and Hobbits as true. Those elements are what make them fairy tales, but that doesn’t mean they’re not true.
What they say about friendship and sacrifice and hope is quite real. Fairy tales also remind us that there is such a thing as evil. They tell us, as G.K. Chesterton wrote, “These limitless terrors had a limit, that these shapeless enemies have enemies in the knights of God, that there is something in the universe more mystical than darkness, and stronger than strong fear.”
This is not a battle between Republicans and Democrats; it’s bigger than politics. Rather, we are in the midst of a spiritual war between good and evil. Our modern culture pushes to erase this notion, while regarding things like mystery and enchantment as charming superstition from a less sophisticated age.
It often remains invisible, but every once in a while, the mask slips and evil shows itself. And every once in a while, we observe something unmistakably good that defies explanation.
The state of world affairs makes no sense without this frame. Without it, we have little to cling to besides despair, and are forced to concoct outlandish conspiracy theories to explain the chaos we see all around us. Once you accept the premise that the battle we are embroiled in is a spiritual one, everything comes into focus.
The reason we resonate so deeply with fairy tales is that despite the fantastical elements, we inherently know they are true.
What’s also important to understand, as the more complex fairy tales often show us, is that human begins cannot be reduced to one-dimensional “good guys” and “bad guys.” In fact, the forces of evil profit when we become convinced that people different than us are the bad guys. A look back over the course of human history shows how many different ways this has played out.
The truth is that there is light and darkness within each of us, and we are constantly pulled in both directions.
Our choices dictate our destiny.
Those choices do not exist in a vacuum. They affect the lives of others, for better or worse.
In the original Star Wars (Episode IV for my fellow nerds), Darth Vader is presented as the epitome of pure evil. But as the story plays out in subsequent movies, the truth is more complicated. We learn that Darth Vader is actually a human being named Anakin Skywalker. He began life as a poor boy, honest, brave, and filled with goodness. He grows into a powerful warrior, fighting on the light side. But over the course of his life, he experiences hardship, pain and grief. Through a series of choices, he slowly succumbs to fear, anger, and hatred, gradually drifting to the dark side, transforming into an agent of evil.
The wise old Jedi master Yoda may have been a figment of George Lucas’ imagination, but his description of Anakin’s progression rings true: “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
As Kim and I try to teach our kids: hurt people hurt people.
The way forward is not to keep hurting one another.
It’s ok to be angry. A righteous anger can instill in us the courage to rise up and fight the powers of darkness. But suffering awaits us if we allow it to feed our emotions of fear and hatred, pulling us deeper and deeper into the darkness.
Eventually, even though most regarded him as more machine than man, Anakin Skywalker is redeemed by his own son, who refuses to relinquish the belief that there is still some good in him.
So it is with us. No matter how far toward the darkness we have drifted, there is still good within us. We can still be redeemed.
But the choosing is up to us. Every day we make choices that pull us closer to either the light or the darkness. And make no mistake, each of those choices comes with a cost.
Choosing to stand for the light can cost us our life.
Siding with the darkness will cost us our soul.
We are in the midst of a great spiritual battle. A refusal to see it, like it, or believe it doesn’t make it not true.
But what can one person do? The fight is so big, the stakes are so high, and the challenge feels so insurmountable. I feel like I’m in a war with giants, with nothing but a cardboard sword. But then I remind myself that “there is something in the universe more mystical than darkness, and stronger than strong fear.”
I am emboldened by the words of St. John Henry Cardinal Newman, who said, “God knows me and calls me by my name. God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another.”
You and I, we each have a role to play in this war. Yours will look different than mine, but our particular gifts are the assets we are called to contribute. It’s not our job to win the war, but join the battle we must.
My aim, although I am not always successful, is to strive toward truth, beauty, and goodness in all my daily choices. To treat with charity and kindness those I disagree with. And to do my best to bring a small measure of light into this dark world.
These days, it’s easy to lose hope. It often seems like darkness is on the verge of extinguishing the light once and for all.
Still, I cling to the truth embedded in fairy tales like Star Wars, Harry Potter, and The Lord of the Rings.
In the end, good wins.
Neil Gaiman paraphrased Chesterton when he wrote, “Fairy tales are more than true – not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten.”
May The Force be with us.
