The Ides of December

Do you know who the saddest villains are? They aren't the ones who chose the dark side on their own, and neither are they the ones who could have been heroes but made the wrong choice.

The saddest villains are the ones who told themselves they were doing the right thing, and were not. Even when their leader reveals himself as the Red Skull, or a Dark Lord of the Sith, or some other sort of archvillain, they continue believing. Countless, voiceless, nameless — and above all, desperately trying to be decent folks doing the right thing — they will take the bullets and the collateral damage.

In the aftermath, as the HAZMAT teams rake over the radioactive debris and their bodies are found, there will be shaking of heads. Some might uncharitably say, "They deserved it."

But that is where 'sad' comes in. They don't really seem to deserve it. They just made the best choices their intelligence and perception allowed them to make. They trusted in their own understanding and that's where it led them. They stood by the wrong principles because they had not considered what ground they stood on, and so were misled and fell.

There are important reminders for those of us who say, "They deserved it," or, "They were [not very clever people]." One of those is this: "Let those who think they stand be careful lest they fall." And it goes for all of us.

So yes, it's fine to be sad about the saddest villains. But learning from that is more important, just in case one day we find ourselves on the wrong end of, "They deserved it."