Heroes and Villains; Why it Seems like the Nice Guys Always Finish Last

Why is it that only in the movies does the good guy win? Simple; the bad guy is the only one who will do whatever it takes to get what he wants, even at the expense of others. It is this willingness to take what one wants, regardless of who it effects or how, that gives the bad guy the advantage. It's not that the good guy is weak or unwilling, but it is his compassion for others that holds him back.

How many times has the good guy sat idly by, turning the other cheek, while people take and destroy? Why is it that the karma never seems to balance out? Because, it is the good guy who puts others needs before his own needs. It is the good guy who refuses to do harm to others, even those who are obviously deserving of it. It is the good guy who gives and gives of himself until there is nothing left.

So what happens to the good guy in the end in reality? Well, unlike the movies, he doesn't get the girl, at least not for long, he doesn't get welcomed as a hero, and he doesn't live happily ever after. If he is lucky, he dies before he allows the bad guy to infect his mind, heart, and spirit with his ugliness. He avoids the sad eventuality of loneliness and regret. However, if he is not that lucky, he will slowly be infected by his enemy's evil ways, eventually being tortured by the blackness that begins to fill his heart. Finally, this blackness will devour his very soul, until he too becomes the very thing he spent his entire life trying to defeat.

You see, the heroes and villains can be simply classified, respectively, as the giver and the taker, or the enabler and the user. The hero, or giver, is, by his very nature, a self defeating creature. He gives everything he has, and is, in the pursuit of others happiness. Unlike the villain, or user, who takes and takes from all who he surveys, moving on as necessary. The sad part of it is that the villain is the one who makes out in the end, having taken what he wants, never to be satisfied. Meanwhile, the hero slowly gives up his very soul to the very person he has tried so hard to defeat.

See the villains greatest weapons are those of his enemy. It is the heroes love and compassion that eventually causes his self defeat. It's his willingness to give all of himself, even to his adversary that is his noblest quality, as well as his greatest weakness. Unbeknownst to our hero, the villain feeds on this, all the while getting stronger as our hero agonizingly dwindles away, with nothing left to him but his eventual defeat and regrets.

Now it would seem that it would be easy for the hero to spot, and avoid, his evil adversary's clever plans; however, the villain is nothing if not resourceful. He uses his guile, and his willingness to deceive, to trap the hero. Our hero, however, is nothing if not open and honest. He walks around with his shiny badge pinned neatly to his chest for all to see, unknowingly marking him with a bright bull's eye.

The villain, however, doesn't make his true intentions known to those around him. He would rather pose as a victim, and like cheese in a mouse trap, lures the hero into his spider web of deception, ever ready to suck the life out of our unsuspecting hero. The saddest part is the hero falls for it every time. It's in the hero's nature to help those he believes he can, and this is how the villain gains the upper hand.

So how can one avoid being either the greedy and self righteous villain, or the self defeating hero? Actually, it's very simple. There is another character in the story that lives in the happy medium; he is the villager. He who doesn't give too much, nor does he take from others. He simply goes through life working for what he needs, and only takes care of those who are close to him. The problem here lies in the extremes, the all or nothing, the black or white, the wrong or right. The answer to this age old dilemma is in the some, the grey, and the tolerable.

Finally, if you want to avoid the plights of both of these unfortunate characters, you must find the middle ground. Everything in life is about balance. It's alright to take what is offered to you, but only when you need to. It's alright to love and to dislike; but it is necessary to have the wisdom to balance your self, and your actions, or else you too will share the fate of those, heroes and villains, who live in extremes.