and tomorrow, everyone's gonna drink my wine.
And tomorrow, everyone's gonna read my letter,
and my story of love and a love that could never be mine...
-- The brothers Gibb
I took part in a discussion last night that led to some intriguing thoughts. In the interest of further pondering, I am writing them here. So... Superman wants to bring about peace on earth. Batman wants to stop crime in Gotham. What's the problem with this? Those things are NEVER going to happen. Once you think about it, almost every hero has some sort of impossible goal. Even if it's as simple as stopping evil, you know these heroes are never going to achieve it. As soon as you crush an arch-nemesis, evil will always spring from somewhere else, it's just the way the world works.
...And isn't the definition of insanity 'doing something over and over again and expecting different results'? Our heroes will NEVER achieve what it is they strive for - couldn't that be seen as foolish? I can think of one other literary figure who seems strikingly similar to these examples... Don Quixote. If Batman and Quixote are so similar, what's the difference between being a hero and being a fool?
...And isn't the definition of insanity 'doing something over and over again and expecting different results'? Our heroes will NEVER achieve what it is they strive for - couldn't that be seen as foolish? I can think of one other literary figure who seems strikingly similar to these examples... Don Quixote. If Batman and Quixote are so similar, what's the difference between being a hero and being a fool?
To dream the impossible dream...
To fight the unbeatable foe...
To bear with unbearable sorrow...
To run where the brave dare not go...
To right the unrightable wrong...
To love pure and chaste from afar...
To try when your arms are too weary...
To reach the unreachable star...
-- The Man of La Mancha
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