The Wire

As all of my friends and family know, I am a big fan of a certain crime drama that was on HBO from 2002 to 2008. I finished the final season today and have officially seen the show in it's entirety. I can honestly say that I believe it is one of the most interesting and educational shows I have seen in my entire life. Although it did have a lot of the commonly found faults of T.V. script writing (lousy one liners, sometimes unbelievable plot twists), the show was a very real and believable story about the nature of perceived good vs. evil. The show also depicts American city workings, government and communities in a very unflattering way, but continues to show the good with the bad. Although one gets the sense that things are broken in our society, hope for the better is always dangled within reach. This is the realism that is so intense in The Wire, there is evil and good in each character and decision that is made. This was a very quick way to sum up the show and doesn't really give it justice, but whatever... I am not writing this to recommend The Wire, just to express what I got from watching the show.

I am always intrigued with the duality of human nature and the Wire gave me plenty to think about regarding this dynamic of humanity. All of us are flawed, but it seems to me that we all want what is considered good in our own realities.

Take how humans view wealth for example. Some people believe that security and prosperity are good and strive to get these things for themselves and their family while hoping others can also be secure and prosperous. Although they care for others, they would rather see a less fortunate person find their own prosperity instead of donating their money. They wouldn't see a handout helping anyone learn to be prosperous (or good), they would rather teach them to fish(or to the extremist it would be better for nature to force them to learn to fish for survival). To be good is to be an example to others how to be self-sufficient, to be bad would be to accept handouts and not work for what you receive. Being charitable isn't good and accepting charity is worse.

Some people believe the opposite and view money and power as bad things. They see greed and selfishness as the only way to become prosperous. To be good in their eyes one is to give and receive freely without hoarding or worrying about your own personal security. To be evil would be to see someone suffering and not immediately attempt to resolve what is tormenting them by giving time, resources or money. Goodness could be defined by being completely selfless and avoiding wealth and power.

Still other people may be in the middle and believe prosperity exists outside of morality. Morality is only measured when you decide what to do with your money/influence/etc. If you can evenly distribute your time and resources between security and charity then you are making moral decisions. If you hoard your resources and give nothing to those in need you are being immoral, but also if you give irresponsibly and don't take care of yourself and your family you are being equally immoral. Being balanced is good, being imbalanced is bad.

All three of these ideas define the other's view on prosperity as a bad way to think. People of each mindset act differently, but each one considers itself good. I can say that I understand each one of these philosophies, but I cannot say which one is "good" when it comes down to it. The gray option is almost always the safest bet, but I don't know if being perfectly balanced is ever a sustaining position. We all tip one way or another. Even if we could achieve perfect balance or perfectly represent our philosophy on prosperity we would still doing good in our own minds and not necessarily everyone elses.

We blur the lines between good and evil simply by how we view others and by how others view us.

This is basically just a repeat of an ethics lesson I had last year, but that's why I liked the Wire. It was a T.V. show that gave me an opportunity to explore reality in a deeper way. How often does that happen?

Troubled Sleep pt. 1

"Americans do not enjoy the process of thinking. When they do concentrate it is in order to escape all thought."
-Jean Paul Sartre

This is an observation made by a French character in the novel "Troubled Sleep". In the scene Paris has just been overrun by the Nazis in WWII and no one in New York is reacting except two men in a French cafe. The two characters spent the day trying to find somebody who will share their despair, but are only able to find each other after a full day of dealing with Americans who have little care for the demise of Paris.

The quote struck me because it is something I have constantly thought, but not as clearly as this is stated. I know few people outside of my own generation that watch movies for more than just entertainment(escape), and I seldom meet people who read books that have heavy, scary, or challenging themes(engagement). I am sure that this is an exaggeration and not to be taken seriously, but I think it is something that is still true for many people. I have been in many an argument about why I don't like movies or books that reflect and assume a type of positivity that I don't think is valid when truly evaluating how the world works. That type of writing presents something that in my opinion has no benefit for the listener because it is a method that gives them artificial positivity. This sounds harsh. I am not against all forms of positivity in art or media, but I think there needs to be a diversity (in what is studied/viewed/read) that represents the full experience of life. And that if positivity is the subject of an expression it needs to be realistic positivity that doesn't give people a false sense of the world around them (i.e. disney movies where everything in the end is perfect).

In conclusion, I think engagement in negative feelings (sadness, despair, anger) is an important part of the human existence. Americans are known to ignore reality and escape their problems into a state of false happiness, but this does not always have to be the case. Lets all start a campaign against the evil of ignoring reality for the benefit of our emotions, and begin engaging the negativity in the world in order to understand it and give it a realistic positive response. Thank you.