Now that everyone has seen the latest Batman movie, The Dark Night, and now that I have had some time to let the subject matter of the movie settle into my mind, I would like to say something about the movie. This is not a review of the movie; we’ve seen enough of those. Nor is this a post telling you why this is one of the best movies ever; you’ve read enough about that. I am hoping that this is more about practical application of the problems portrayed in the movie.

But first, I will tell you a disturbing story. My friend lives on the top story of a downtown Portland building. One day he was looking out his window and saw a man lying dead on the sidewalk with a couple bullet holes in his body and a stream of blood running about fifteen feet down the hill. The police had sectioned off the area so that those passing by could not see any of the mess but my friend lives at the top of the building so he could see the whole thing. Later, when he looked again, the sidewalk had been totally cleaned as if nothing had happened and now my friend has suspicions about other cleaned sidewalks he comes across.

A similar story occurs in The Dark Night. Batman realizes that he must decrease so that the political figure, Harvey Dent, can increase the hope of Gotham’s public. The Joker, however, successfully turns Dent into a murderous madman. If the public sees what has happened to Harvey Dent, the expectation for a greater Gotham would be lost and the people might riot. Batman and the Commissioner decide that the public should not know what happened to Dent and that Dent’s public image should remain clean. It is agreed that, for now, Batman would take the blame for both Dent’s rampage and his death.

An interesting part of this story is the cover-up that happens because of the assumption that the public will go mad, like the Joker, if the truth about their political hero is released to them. However, by covering the truth about Harvey Dent didn’t the Joker already win?

I think that cover-ups such as this occur daily in our own lives. And I am not talking about the cleaning of blood-stained sidewalks, I am talking about our own conscious or unconscious efforts to enjoy life by ignoring the difficult, unfair, and uneasy things that happen to those around us. It seems that a degree of this is important in order to enjoy life (and I am an advocate of enjoying life) or else one would be either consumed or overwhelmed by the amount of work and/or service needed to make the world better for others. If we truly knew the tremendous amount of suffering by those around us, maybe it would be enough to make us go mad, if we aren’t mad already. How much of this masking is enough, too-much, or not enough at all? This is an intriguing question to me. When do I face the reality around me and how do I balance living my reality with the realities of other people? I’m not sure I have the answers for these questions but for now I have hope that if I am generous and kind to others there could be a snowball effect. I also try to keep in mind the realities of those around me and to be sensitive to the needs of others. Also, I am grateful for being alive regardless of whether my current lot is difficult or easy.