Carol wrote:
but I hope that if you do comment, you do it from a position of knowledge instead of presupposition and prejudice.
I think that's really hard to do because no one is free of either of the latter two. For example, some posters believe that all people are by instinct revenge killers and so that particular "prejudice" or "bias" shapes how they view this issue.
I'd like to clarify my initial statement. What I should have written was that I hoped people would comment from a position of knowledge (specifically about my stories) instead of posting without that knowledge.
Carol also wrote:
One of the images I can't get out of my head is that of those Amish people who lost their daughters to a vicious murderer. There can be no worse thing than to lose a child. And yet their reaction was never less than truly "human".
For those who may not be as familiar with this aspect of the story, the Amish parents went to the family of the man who murdered their children and offered both physical and spiritual comfort to them. They never behaved any way other than completely loving to that family, and not only did the Amish offer food and forgiveness, they maintained their contact and continued to offer their assistance.
I have to disagree with Carol. This is
not a "human" reaction. A truly human reaction would have been to accuse, villify, or otherwise heap abuse on that family. Perhaps the "human" reaction would have included revenge killings carried out either singly or en masse. The "human" reaction would have been violent and sudden and would have continued the cycle of pain for generations. And if you don't believe me, all you have to do is look at Northern Ireland or the Middle East or China or Kentucky (where the Hatfields and McCoys still struggle with the fallout from their famous feud, even though they don't shoot at each other any more) or any number of other places around the globe where people react to insult and injury with greater insult and greater injury.
The reason the Amish did not react as "normal humans" would is because of their Biblically-based faith in God. They themselves would tell you that they aren't special people, but that they are called to behave towards their neighbors in a special way, in order to show others who their Master really is.
Whether one believes that humankind is inherently evil, inherently good, or inherently neutral, one cannot view our world without seeing terrible conflicts all around. Humanity's history is one of warfare and conquest, interspersed with little pockets of peace here and there. Yet we strive on, reaching for something better, something more.
In many ways, Superman embodies this "something better" in our culture. So many of our fellow readers view Superman as an immutable moral standard in and of himself that any tarnishing of that image is rejected out of hand. Yet, despite his great power and greater potential, Clark is still a flawed human. He has the same kinds of weaknesses each of us do, and if we can see him overcome not only a flaw in his character but see him overcome the negative consequences of a serious mistake, we may all be encouraged to do better, to be better, next time temptation comes knocking on our door.
Hope this spreads balm and not cayenne pepper.
