Further thoughts on "The Vertical Hour."
Jan. 14th, 2007 11:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sechan19One of the themes of this play that stays with me is the idea, echoed in a quote by Edmund Burke, that "all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." The play dealt with the Iraq War as one of its major points of contention between the two main characters, and the Julianne Moore character was largely of Burke's opinion. Her Nadia Blye believed that it was the responsibility of the West to do something when faced with the suffering of the world. When asked why one should persevere and continue to hope in the face of such despair she responded that we have no other choice.
And, of course, she's right. And wrong. There's always a choice - the easier choice to do nothing, to turn away. I think, though, that the heart of her belief had merit. In the face of despair, a decent person has a duty to continue to try. This challenge can be met with anger if necessary, for while anger can be destructive it can also be galvanizing, and there's nothing wrong with raging at the universe, or at god, or at whomever. God can handle our anger. The greatest crime against her, as against life, is indifference. As the play commented, terrorism is the wrong answer to the right question. Terrorists make the mistake of throwing their anger at people instead of at god, forgetting (or perhaps never knowing) both that she can take it and that she's the one who's earned it.
And, of course, she's right. And wrong. There's always a choice - the easier choice to do nothing, to turn away. I think, though, that the heart of her belief had merit. In the face of despair, a decent person has a duty to continue to try. This challenge can be met with anger if necessary, for while anger can be destructive it can also be galvanizing, and there's nothing wrong with raging at the universe, or at god, or at whomever. God can handle our anger. The greatest crime against her, as against life, is indifference. As the play commented, terrorism is the wrong answer to the right question. Terrorists make the mistake of throwing their anger at people instead of at god, forgetting (or perhaps never knowing) both that she can take it and that she's the one who's earned it.
