Aporia
I was reading "The Power And The Glory" by Graham Greene and this particular scene caught my attention and prompted me to blog about it. This priest, who was wanted by the government, was caught for possessing a small bottle of Brandy in his pocket and was thrown into prison. People didn't know that he was the priest they were looking for, and the lieutenant, who was made in charge for the entire hunting of the priest, actually handed him five pesos just so he could get out of the cell. The lieutenant had not a clue that the man he handed five pesos to was the priest he was looking so hard for.
You see, the moment of compassion from this lieutenant actually provided the priest the golden opportunity to escape and cross the borders and lead a whole new life. What surprised me was that the lieutenant was compassionate enough to hand the man five pesos just so he could pay the fine and get out of prison. The lieutenant held so much contempt towards Christianity that he was extremely ruthless in his quest to finding the priest and executing him. He went to every single village and grabbed people as hostages should they not provide any information about the priest. It was a complete reflection of what kind of a man he was, that was why that small gesture of kindness had me taken aback for a little while. Then I did a little more thinking. The lieutenant became the man he was because his childhood was scarred by the very presence of religion and he wanted to do something for the future children of his country. He was probably not as bad as I thought he was. Despite his extreme ruthlessness that caused unnecessary sacrifices, he still had a part of him that was kind, and loving. Of course, what he did was unforgivable, but he had a reason for it. Somehow I felt less contempt towards him after analyzing his character a little more and this brings me back to now. We are always so caught up with the flaws of people or their ugly and disgusting acts that sometimes we fail to see the reasons behind those doings. I am not saying that the reasons are acceptable, but I am just saying that sometimes we need to put ourselves in their shoes and sympathize with them a little, and perhaps see the good in them that many others couldn't see. Somehow we would be doing a little justice for them, and what harm can we do in seeing a little more good in the people on this Earth?
You see, the moment of compassion from this lieutenant actually provided the priest the golden opportunity to escape and cross the borders and lead a whole new life. What surprised me was that the lieutenant was compassionate enough to hand the man five pesos just so he could pay the fine and get out of prison. The lieutenant held so much contempt towards Christianity that he was extremely ruthless in his quest to finding the priest and executing him. He went to every single village and grabbed people as hostages should they not provide any information about the priest. It was a complete reflection of what kind of a man he was, that was why that small gesture of kindness had me taken aback for a little while. Then I did a little more thinking. The lieutenant became the man he was because his childhood was scarred by the very presence of religion and he wanted to do something for the future children of his country. He was probably not as bad as I thought he was. Despite his extreme ruthlessness that caused unnecessary sacrifices, he still had a part of him that was kind, and loving. Of course, what he did was unforgivable, but he had a reason for it. Somehow I felt less contempt towards him after analyzing his character a little more and this brings me back to now. We are always so caught up with the flaws of people or their ugly and disgusting acts that sometimes we fail to see the reasons behind those doings. I am not saying that the reasons are acceptable, but I am just saying that sometimes we need to put ourselves in their shoes and sympathize with them a little, and perhaps see the good in them that many others couldn't see. Somehow we would be doing a little justice for them, and what harm can we do in seeing a little more good in the people on this Earth?