Intention and Justification

I was watching The Dark Knight again the other night, and I have to say that I really think that it's quite a brilliant film. I always look at the world as a place where there is tremendous moral struggle. Where there is always hope for a better world, struggling against what is easy and comfortable.

When I first saw the film, I admit identifying with the concept of Batman making himself into a scapegoat, while simultaneously being solely responsible for the welfare of the people who scapegoated him. I have to admit, though, that I have outgrown that self-deprecating vision of myself, and what I've been working on for so much of this time frame has been allowing myself to recognize my own value without having to destroy myself and raise everyone else up at the same time.

What strikes me about the moral struggles of the film, however, is the moral downward spiral that the Joker represents. Every crime that the Joker commits, is one in which he brings out the worst in humanity. The entire movie is centered around the concept of corruption and hitting on all of the key vulnerabilities of human frailty to compel them to make difficult choices.

This is exactly what the Joker stated to Batman as the "battle for Gotham's soul." Interestingly, I see this as the constant moral struggle within the world. And it inevitably highlights the primary difference for me on what makes the character of a person.

The difference, as I see it, deals with the contrast between identification and justification. As an understanding human being, I can see a lot of people do some pretty despicable things, and I can see why they do it, can understand their motivation, and recognize the justification behind it. For the vast majority of the world, the difference between creating good or doing evil all truly boils down to a point of position and context. Few people in the world actively make their own moral choices in a way that is thoughtful and intentional to the concept of what type of person they wish to be on any given day.

I believe that one of the underlying realities behind this is the concept of the godhead religious figure who dangles the realities of heaven and hell before us. The reward-punishment moral framework that simplifies everything down to a "yes-or-no" question does not allow for the complexity of real-world functions to permeate into people's actual decision-making processes. In the end, if you can justify your actions through the moral framework, then that should be enough. It doesn't matter whether you did the *best* thing, just so long as what you did was acceptable. This is the justification framework. Everything you do, has to be justified. But, so long as you have justification for what you do, then there is no compulsion or reason to ever be better.

By contrast, I always look at myself in the world as self-defining. I am very much in tune with the Existential concepts of responsibility and self-creation. I am who I make myself to be, and I make myself through the actions and choices that I make every day. So every day that I choose to help or support another person, I am making myself into the type of person who would help or support others. Every time that I reach out to somebody who is in pain, I am making myself into the type of person who reaches out to others.

Within this framework, justification can always still come up, but you still always only define your own moral limits by what you are able to justify to yourself. But there is always room for improvement, and always room for growth. Because I can do what is justifiable, but at that moment, I am only choosing to be the type of person who performs actions that are justifiable. If I instead act in a way that is intentional, where I weigh the benefits of what I do in the world against the type of person that I will be if I take different sorts of actions, then I will always continue to grow and expand my own moral self into something better, every day.

This is the point where I have found my one greatest gift in the world, and where I have found the keystone to finding my own value. I don't need to sacrifice myself for the benefit of the world in order to maintain my "best course of action" any more. In fact, as an individual, I now have to consider that looking out for myself and things that will help me, is helping yet one more person along their journey as well. I have known people who have been hurtful towards me, and yet I have determined that I can be the type of person who can forgive them, step forward, and still help to cultivate their humanity.

At the same time, I don't need to do it in a way that allows them to further humiliate, demean, or harm my own humanity, because I can stand firm in the fact that I have a tremendous amount of value. And I don't deserve mistreatment in the midst of my own desire to raise the world up. Because the world isn't in a zero-sum gain. I don't have to lose in order for others to win. And now, I can see that my own willingness and desire to help improve the world, is also my greatest asset to helping myself to win, as well. I have human needs, and today, I choose to be the type of person who can meet my own needs, so that I can continue to grow and become a better person than I was yesterday. And THAT is the key to my own intentionality.