The Dark Side

"Is the Dark Side stronger?"

That is what Luke asked Yoda in one of the original Star Wars movies. As most of you know, the old Jedi Master answered with "no; quicker, easier, more seductive".

Surely everyone is familiar with the concept of "the Dark Side", by whatever name you call it. It's being selfish and hurtful; sadistic; evil. It can be very tempting when your boss wrongfully lowers your salary, or your girlfriend leaves you for your best friend, or even when the person in front of you in line takes forever to pay. It's so easy to start shouting, fighting, scheming, or taking revenge.

Most people do not, however. There is a certain line that people don't usually cross. Some turn to the Dark Side easily and readily; others will not even when all hell descends on them.

I would love to say I'm in the latter category. If you knew me, you might still even say I am. But I'm not. I can take a lot, but when I'm angry, I'm really angry. My yin is a lot bigger than my yang, inside. But you might never know, because that is not how I ordinarily behave. I'm just a good guy with a fascination for all things evil.

"Ormus senses a strange dichotomy in you, as he does in all would-be heroes."
- Ormus, Diablo II

During my childhood I played a lot with Lego. You know, pirates and soldiers. My pirates always won. Because they're cool. They are the interesting guys; not those boring good souls that joined the marines to "make the world a better and safer place".

Similarly, I was a fan of every "bad guy" or anti-hero in whatever movie or series. Skeletor in He-Man. Vegeta in DragonBall Z. Angelus in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Venom from Spiderman. Violator from Spawn. The Darkness. Bill. And of course, Darth Vader. And this guy:


It's these bad people that are the most interesting. Actors love to play the bad guys; writers love creating them and making them do bad things; the audience just loves them. People don't want shallow, superficial bad guys anymore; they need to have some sort of reason for their being evil. A bad childhood at the very least.

But isn't it just the fact that these guys don't follow the rules? Don't we all want to break the rules sometimes? Just "having a little fun"? We just need that push, that feeling of "I cannot be caught", that final step, and we fall to the Dark Side. Hard.

Curiously, when we've fallen, we usually get back to the Light. And think it was justified, and that we're still a good person. No matter what atrocities, what sins, or what crimes we commit, we keep thinking of ourselves as "good".

And in a way we are. Because does that sin erase every good thing we have ever done? Does that one crime mean we can never return to society? Lately, it seems like many people would answer that with "yes", but I disagree. Everyone deserves a second chance, and maybe even a third or fourth. "You're never too old to learn", and stuff.

But what worries me most is that a lot of people have no balance in being good/bad. I know, that sounds really zen and corny, but that's how I feel. Why don't they just accept themselves, including their darker aspects? Suppressing those "evil" urges only makes those urges stronger, while acknowledging them and accepting them weakens them, and makes you stronger...


Wow, that sounded like a cartload of crap.

But still. Think about it. Bring balance to your Force. Embrace your Dark Side. As long as you don't start killing younglings and stuff.


DragonFang