Every Rose Has Its Thorn

Good: morally excellent; virtuous; righteous; pious
Evil: morally wrong or bad; immoral; wicked

Good and evil. A seemingly simple concept that we are taught from a very early age. Just the other day, I was watching Tangled, a recent Disney movie, with a five year old. Everytime a new character came out, this little girl would ask "Is he good?" or "He's evil, right?" I would answer her, and she would say, "Oh, okay" and sit quietly watching until a new character appeared. This need to discern between good and evil has been fundamental to the human race since before the invention of fire, but is it as simple as we are led to think?

Thinking back on heros, or "good guys," each almost always has some sort of flaw. Superman quivers at the sight of kryptonite, Samson was nothing without his burly locks, Dorothy cannot find her way home, the list goes on and on. Even if they have good intentions, heroes may struggle along the way to get to the end result (which is normally them saving the day and everyone else cheering). But can these characters actually be called "morally excellent, virtuous, righteous, and pious" if they sometimes waver away from the spotless ultimatum and get a little messy in the middle?

I think yes. After contemplating this dilemnia, I have come to the conclusion that life is gray. Nothing is truly black and white (except maybe, zebras) in life, and therefore good cannot be either. The good can sometimes be evil, and the evil sometimes good. It is our individual right to decide what we think is good and evil: "[It] is all in the eye of the beholder."