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| Blogs > rm_mazandbren > The Complaisant Husband |
Duty is the greatest of burdens.
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Duty is the greatest of burdens. Passing Through Gethsemane is an episode of the Sci-fi series Babylon5. in the future the death sentence has been replaced with Death of Personality, a mechanical procedure that removes the personality and most of the memories of the convicted person and replaces them with the personality and memories of someone dedicated to "serving the society harmed by your actions." Brother Edward, brilliantly portrayed by Brad Dourif, is a monk of the Cistercian Order living on B5 and, with his brethen and guided by Brother Theo, another brilliant portrayal by Louis Turenne, they attempt to learn more about 'the many faces of God from our alien brothers.' During this search we discover that the key point of Edward's faith is the scene of Jesus, waiting in the Garden of Gehtsemane. he knows he is about to be betrayed by one of his closest friends; that his friends who are meant to be standing guard for him have fallen asleep in the darkness; that his followers will desert him; that he will suffer great torment at the hands of his enemy and be killed brutally. that all he has is his faith in God's assurance that it is worthwhile. and Edward wonders if he has the courage and faith to face his own Gethsemane. in fact Brother Edward is the serial killer Charles Dexter, the Black Rose Killer. Nine years after his crimes the families of his victims have tracked him down; using an alien telepath to dig out the last of his memories they awaken in 'Edward' the memories of 'Charles'. ashamed of who he was, aware that somebody did this for a reason, Edward leaves the order and has a confrontation with Theo about what has happened. "How could they do it, Theo? how can i confess my sins to God if i don't know what they were?" "God knows your sins, Edward, even if you don't. leave it in his hands." "the memories fade, Theo, but the stain on the soul remains." whilst i am a supporter of the death penalty, it is this notion of taking away redemption that has me questioning its uses. for as a religious person i do not see that we necessarily have the right to interfere in this idea. it is not simply a feature of religion; our very humanity is tied to the notion that we are not always who we are now- that we can atone for our mistakes. and yet there is evil in the world; some acts are so heinous that they require some demonstration by society that such things should not happen. Serial killers and mass murderers; serial . it is my personal belief that those guilty of Treason or attempted or actual murder of a police officer, judge or prosecutor, should also get the death penalty. but redemption is more than a religious concept; it also affects society. indeed, in my view it is the essence of our humanity- we don't have to be what we are now- that we can atone for our mistakes. but even an individual murder can have the hallmarks of the evil of humanity- a WA man has recently received the harshest penalty handed down for a long time for repeatedly stabbing and shooting his defacto wife to death, which his young was forced to witness. when can only imagine the terror of this woman; the pain as the knife is driven into her body and withdrawan with equal violence; of her blood flowing from her body, perhaps in the throes of death her faculties fail; the thought that the man she loves is getting a gun to finish her off; the tread of his feet bringing death closer; perhaps the humiliation of pleading for her life; perhaps the torment of his taunts; and finally the slow raising of the gun- the weapon sighted on her body- the impact of the bullets- death. what motive justifies such evil? how does one even begin to contemplate the thinking of a person not content with stabbing another person to death but also shooting them to death after leaving the room and returning to the scene of carnage. but at a deeper point is the project that is forgiveness. soon after the murder of Edward we are confronted again by his killer. we find Captain Sheridan ruminating on loss and forgiveness when Brother Theo enters. "It's not enough; we took his personality and his memories and it still wasn't enough; forgiveness is a hard thing isn't it Leo?" enter Brother Malcolm, the murderer of Edward has been sentenced to DoP and returns to serve with the Cistercians, " it is all i have ever wanted; as far back as i remember." As Sheridan shows signs of hostility, Theo intervenes, "you must excuse the Captain, Malcolm, you interrupted his train of thoughts. he was just saying that forgiveness was difficult but nevertheless somthing to strive for." still hesitant, Sheridan takes the first step on his own journey of forgiveness. i would like to think that on my own personal journey through the cosmos that i might be able to find such forgiveness when called for. there is a theme that runs through some of Terry Pratchett's books that says 'Personal is not the same as important.' i would like to think i can act properly when the time comes. but it is the last element of the show that have me going back for more. for in his confrontation with his pursuers Edward does meet his Gethsemane moment in perhaps one of the creepiest moments of television ever, we find Edward praying for strength. as figures step into the room and surround him the camera fixes on his sadly triumphant face. "I knew you would come." at the end of the day, it is not 'Charles' who is tortured and crucified, but 'Edward'. Edward atones for the sins of the other, Charles, in his torment and suffering just as Jesus was meant to have atoned for our sins. in the book Sword of Shanara, the sword of the title is a sword of truth for ALL who are touched by it- including the wielder. in order to use the sword the wielder must face the truth about themself. for we all create our own personal mythos based on the dozens little lies we tell ourselves. not all of these are bad; because we reference the past for our current perceptions the lack of a past reference forces us to speculate. knowing this i try to put the extra effort in being not only true to myself but true to the situation at hand. my motto in these situations is simple- a hard truth is easier than an easy lie. we all create our own little mythos; the real trap is not to get caught within it. but still i worry about my Gethsemane moment. whilst i have intervened in numerous moments of violence i know it to be an act- it terrifies me that this time could lead to injury or even death. and yet it terrifies me more for people to think that i am a coward or fairweather friend. there is a notion that for an action to be perfect it must be pure in intention and execution. my worry about my Gethsemane is not that i will get through it, but that it will be more for the image of the thing than because i am brave or honourable or faithful.  In truth is there no beauty? I am not in love; but i am open to persuasion. |
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10/5/2009 12:10 am |
i love the pictures of the sexy women you're posting, along with your blogs!  thank you!
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