What Exactly Does This Say About Me?

What Exactly Does This Say About Me????

Honestly, I'm curious. 

I have a bad habit of identifying with the bad guy. I mean, it's not so bad that I think their decisions are okay, but I find myself seeing from their point of view. 

For example, in the bible, when Moses is trying to free the Hebrews from the Pharaoh's control, and the Pharaoh keeps saying no, so there are all kinds of famines and whatnot, I can't help but empathize with the poor king. Obviously, the way the Hebrew people were enslaved is a terrible thing. The way they were treated, and beaten and starved was a terrible thing. However, from the Pharaoh's standpoint, you have to understand the panic he must have felt. 

1. The man who was raised in his home as his BROTHER, a person he likely shared secrets with, played games with,  and loved at least to some extent, blatantly betrayed him. Of course, we know it's because he's a prophet of God and the key to his people's deliverance. But, really, this family situation isn't any different from YOURS if your sibling was getting into situations you felt were dangerous and inappropriate. 

2. As the king, the Pharaoh had an explicit responsibility to his own people. To feed and clothe them. As of this point, the  Hebrew slaves were his kingdom's main source of EVERYTHING. Again, it's obvious that it wasn't a good or correct source. But, when you're looking at your kingdom and thinking "We're going to starve if they run out of here...." it can be terrifying. I know- I've faced the possibility of not being able to feed my 4 children...and that's just my family, rather than hundreds of thousands of people. 

I know. A lot of you lovely Christian women out there are thinking I'm missing the point and that I'm an absolute heathen, aren't you? Well, I promise you that my loyalties are always with the right side...I just can't help looking back with regret upon such people- people who are just trying to do what they've been taught, wrong though it is, and who may have been very severely tricked, the way Pharaoh was by his soothsayers and magicians. He was raised to believe in them. 

You'll recall the movie Letters To Juliet? I remember watching that with some friends who vehemently hissed at the screen while the heroine's fiance repeatedly ditched her for wine, cheese, and authentic Italian recipes. WHAT A JERK!!!  I kept my mouth shut- I'm too smart to start fights- but inwardly, I strongly disagreed. 

1. At the very beginning of this movie, it is made obvious that the fiance is opening his own Italian restaurant. There are so many obvious issues and hardships with this, but I won't name them. 

2. Our little miss Heroine also makes it plain that the trip to Italy that they will be leaving on IS SPECIFICALLY FOR finding places to provide cheeses, wines, and other delicacies for his new restaurant. It's NOT a honeymoon, it's NOT a romantic getaway. It's a business trip.

3. It's really SHE that ditches HIM. SHE is the one who asks if she can go do something other than taste cheese.  When a relationship doesn't work, TWO people have to take credit. 

4. She ends up with a guy that's better suited to her, but it's not because her fiance is a jerk. He didn't cheat on her,(though, it can be argued that she possibly cheated on him.),  he didn't push her around, and it's fairly obvious that he loves her. But if we all broke up with our husbands/boyfriends/fiances EVERY SINGLE TIME they had a responsibility to fill (in this case, he had appointments he needed to get to, and things to do to ensure success for his business)or we just got bored, then it'd be a very sad and lonely world, indeed. 

Lately, my sympathy has settled upon a dear old nemesis, Lex Luthor. 

Now, I LIKE superheros, but I'm not, like, INTO super heroes. My husband and my son are, but, while I think the movies are great, I don't get all obsessive over them...usually.

When I was growing up, though, I had uncles that were very near me in age, and they were Superman fans. I wanted desperately to be like them, and so, I  read some of their comic books, I wore super girl underoos, watched all the Superman movies, and I had a super girl costume.

Due to my worship of my uncles, I am very well aware of Lex Luthor, who he is, and that he is, indeed, a very VERY bad guy. (Though, admittedly, I don't know what the original Superman creators intended his past to be, or if it's anything like the way I perceive him now.)  Recently, though, my husband brought home the first two seasons of Smallville, and even though it never caught my fancy when I was in college, now, I really like it, though, I spend most of the time that I watch it wishing I could give Lex a hug and just tell him that everything will be alright, and, that even though everyone ELSE misunderstands him, I get it!

I am fully capable of admitting that my affection for him might stem from the fact that he's ridiculously handsome, and his uncanny resemblance of my husband. (I tend to be attracted to power. Not like, kings and rulers or even money or wealth, but a guy who is confident, in charge, organized and in control of a situation really gets me going. Not to mention, he dresses really well, which is also a big thing to me. Heaven knows why I married Brandon. He is disorganized beyond anything decent, and if he dresses well, it's because I bought him the clothes in the first place. But I love him dearly, nonetheless.)

(And really, it's not just 'cause they're both bald, though Brandon does look older than Lex here. He has the same self confidence as Lex in the series, and the same way of having a conversation, as well as some same mannerisms...)

(This one looks more like him,  but then, this is of Brandon when he would have been the same age as Lex in the series.)

You see, Lex has it a lot harder than his rich-kid demeanor betrays.

1. His dad is a total jerk. Over and over again, Lex rises to whatever occasion is given him, and every time his dad just tells him how he could have done better, or how he was wrong and how he is further disappointed him. Even in saving his father's life, Lex is demeaned by him because, though his life is spared, he is  now blind. Lex's father feels that he would be better off dead.

2. The whole town of Smallville has been gyped in some way or another by Lex's father. Of course, it's obvious why no one really wants to trust him. Clark Kent's father is the absolute WORST about this.  He even destroys a check that Lex gives him for the cost of land and cattle destroyed by one of his employees.  However, Lex proves his good intentions multiple times over, even saving Johnathan Kent's life. Still, he's snubbed by everyone.

3. Lex has a very obsessive nature. He has people investigating the meteor crash and the kryptonite too. Often, this leads back to the Kents, despite Lex's honest warnings for people to stay away from them. (And lets face it. We as NORMAL people in the REAL WORLD would probably be curious and interested, even to obsession, if there was a meteor shower that left the whole town full of mutants and it was discovered there was a space ship that fell in the middle of a corn field. This trait is NOT exclusive to Lex Luthor.)  As we all know, his curiosity gets the best of him, and that is the straw that breaks the camel's back. However, he does his very best to protect Clark and his best interests in the beginning. Clark is ridiculously bad at choosing who to trust and who not to. When his friends find out about him, they flip out like crazy for awhile, and luckily, they're loyal. I feel strongly, too, that if Clark had placed any small amount of trust in Lex (and probably even Lana- because that girl can smell Clark's lies 5 miles away. Maybe she wouldn't have turned rogue.) and told him his secret at a point where Lex was still trying his darndest to push past the image he inadvertently inherited from his father, while his intentions were still pure, then Lex, instead of becoming his arch nemesis, could very well have been one of his most valuable protectors, a person who would have had his back.

I may be wrong. And maybe it says something terrible about me that I feel so strongly for all of these "bad guys", but I wonder, if we all could take a step back and look through the eyes of our enemies, how many disputes would be thwarted in their tracks? How many misunderstandings would resolve before they began? Maybe compassion is more important than we let it be. Maybe I'm a rebel at heart...or maybe I have a gift. I don't really know. What do you think?

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