When I watch television I usually root for the bad guy. Not because I’m fascinated with evil. I’m just disgusted with hypocrisy. I despise the so-called good guys turning grey. Don’t bulldoze me with blurring the edges baloney. Being half good is like being almost pregnant. Ambition in the bureaucracy is deadlier than any naked crime. It’s one of the reasons I cheer for the law breaker. His motives are purer. He is playing one side of the street. He’s less mean spirited than the family man willing to rationalize misdeeds in the name of private school tuition. It’s hard to be on the side of the angels when the angels have bigger horns than the devils. Yet the complexity of the human condition traps us outside of the garden of Eden. We murder our brother and claim self-defense. We sell our sister and seek a tax deduction. We ignore our children but demand their respect. Perhaps being a bad guy is less stressful than the baggage of a hero. His wife stopped loving him ten years ago. And carries more guilt than a catholic priest. The bad guy needs no confessor to knife his successor. It’s an easier life than rich guy rules made for paycheck fools. I’m not naive enough to believe the bomb he put under your car is not personal. However; visiting danger zones with loved ones is similar to walking in a zoo without cages. Body parts and broken hearts mark the heavy loads hauled by hypocrites.
Mark Antony Rossi is a poet, playwright and host of the literary podcast “Strength To Be Human” https://strengthtobehuman.podbean.com
