Heroes and Monsters

     Life can be harsh and sometimes even brutal. Harshness is often inevitable in life and we all face adversity at different points in our lives.

    Unfortunately, for some people, life can be unnecessarily brutal. Brutality that by all means could have, and should have, been avoided. Brutality can often create monsters. People who would have turned out as decent human beings had they not been so brutalized. 

       You'd be hard pressed to find a human monster such as a serial killer or mass murderer who didn't have some sort of seriously brutal or adverse condition in their past. 

      Yes, brutality can, and often does, create monsters, but it can also create heroes.  The difference in the process is usually the content of the person's character as well as how far the brutality goes. 

     I view brutality as having a "point of no return" where it crosses a line that either leads to the death of the victim or turns them into a monster. I think to create a hero you have to push the brutality close to that "point of no return" but not over the edge, so you can build them back up. 

      The difference also lies in the content and conduct of the brutality. Some things you just don't do to people, and revenge is a potent and powerful emotion, one that both heroes and monsters can be pushed into pursuing.

        I look at heroism as a noble and valuable human trait. One of the most noble and valuable of all human characteristics. We all have the potential for heroism. Just like we all have the potential to be a monster. It depends on the content of our character and how far we are pushed and whether or not we can be built up after being broken down. 

       Monsters are defined by hatred and selfishness.

       Heroes, on the other hand, are defined by selflessness and love. 

Both often undergo a tribulation and brutality.

 It's just a hero passes a tribulation

 A monster fails it.