Would I Do the Right Thing?

Although many people want to hear my take on The Dark Knight I simple cannot write just another review of a great film. There was too many reviews and blogs about this movie out there already and I doubt I could put it any better or worse then the ones that have already been written. Plus writing a simple review would not be very 'random' which is the basis of what I blog about.

Instead I am going to talk about a dream I had this past weekend that got me thinking at 1:45 in the morning so much so that when I awoke from my slumber I was adamant about making sure I wrote it down right then so I would not forget any of the fuzzy details. As I was writing down a few points I realized that this dream can be related to The Dark Knight in a small way so that will have suffice for those of you wishing to hear my take on the film...

And heeeeere we go...
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My eyes are open, but I am not awake. I am wandering. Wandering down random hallways. Are then dorm rooms or is this a hotel of sorts. It's a hotel. I see people in shorts and tee shirts. Where am I? I stand in front of a door. I think this is my room, but I do not have the key. The door doesn't open. I must be locked out.

I head to the elevator which takes me down, down, down...It opens at the lobby. Yes, this is a hotel, but where? I walk outside. I am on a strip of hotels. Is it Vegas? No, it can't be. There are beaches all around me. It's Miami of all places. It's weird that I know it's daytime and yet there's a shadow of darkness all around me. Am I on vacation? I need to get back to my room and figure out how the hell I got to Miami.

Everything's fuzzy. I'm now sitting in a home. It looks vaguely familiar. Maybe it's the home of one of my old friends from school where he grew up. It seems to be similar at least. I'm just a spectator now. Watching as two people fight. A man and a woman. The man is a friend of my dad's I think. Steve is his name. He's arguing with a girl my age or a little older. She may have been in my class, but I don't quite recognize her.

He says she tricked him. He was conned into divorcing his wife for her and then now she is taking all of his money. Is she a con artist? This is really strange. Why am I here watching this. I should go. I turn away and close my eyes. I don't want to hear this...

I'm at Starkey Ford in York, Maine of all places. My dad is with me. It looks more like a junk yard of cars though all piled and crushed on top of each other. We both get into the back of a car. Two other guys are in the front. They seem kind of sketchy. Wait I know why now. It's as if the information was downloaded into my brain suddenly.

These guys are crooks. They stole a big diamond. Why are they here? The driver also was accused of almost killing a man, but that charge was dropped so they could get him on the theft instead. Why would they do that? I don't get the judicial system sometimes.

They crooks drive us around front and let us out. I walk into the building first, but it's different. The shop is out front instead of the Show Room...That's so weird, but then again the place is a junk yard and I was just driven around front by some criminals.

Before I am in the building I hear my dad make a wise crack to the driver. I don't know what was said, but the driver is furious. He gets out of the car. I walk out back not thinking much of it. The place is kind of deserted. Is it the weekend or something? My dad is on the other side of the wall from me walking toward some offices. I'm in the shop area. I hear the driver arguing with my dad making threatening slurs. My dad's not paying attention.

The crook has a gun. I can tell. Can I see through the wall or did I see him pull it out before he went out of site on the other side? My heart starts pounding. He shoots the gun into the air to get my dad's attention. I get down. I'm scared now. I need to help my dad. I grab a broomstick. I don't think this is going to do the trick.

The crook is pointing the gun at my dad. I throw something in the opposite direction to get him to come back toward where I am. What do I do. I drop the stick and grab a garden edger. What is this doing here. It's made of pure metal. I don't want to die...

The guy comes around the corner. I smack him square in the face. I keep hitting him. All I can hear is my pounding heart. I'm not going to die. The second crook comes in to see what the commotion is. I swing wildly knocking him back while also knocking the driver over a ledge railing into a pitfall. Where did that come from?

I reach out and grab him. He's dangling there. I can see fear in his eyes. He was going to kill us. I should do the same. I should let him fall. That way I know we will be safe. If I let him live then I will live in fear knowing he can escape prison and come after us. I should let him die. It would be easier. The safest route.

But I can't. I pull him up. As I do so I start to fall into the pit. The second crook comes to my rescue. He's doing the right thing too. Why didn't he just let me fall? He's evil. But he's also human...

I roll over and wake up. It's 1:45am. I need to write this weird dream down...
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You either die a hero...or live long enough to become the villain...

This dream got me thinking. It also reminded me of an underlying theme in The Dark Knight. I won't talk of any specifics for those of you who haven't seen it, but SHOULD! Anyway, there is a theme of 'Doing the right Thing" in several parts of the movie.

Do you sacrifice yourself to save someone else? Do you choose to let someone else die so you can live? Do you kill to ensure your safety and the safety of others in the future? Very powerful stuff to think about.

I'm not sure what I would do. I hope in the time of crisis I would do the right thing. If someone I loved was in trouble I would do all I could to save them. But if I had the chance to save my villain from doom would I? Would I let them live or would I act as Judge, Jury, and Executioner and ensure the safety of everyone around me?

If you had a gun pointed at you and you had two choices:

1. Disarm your attacker and let them live, possibly giving them a second chance to kill you in the future?
2. Kill them then and there. End it so the fear would be gone...

That's a question that's not so easy to answer. I know if the time came I would protect those around me whom I love dearly, but would I take that last leap and kill to ensure their safety? Maybe out of fear I would. A struggle for sure that I hope I never have to make...