Right before graduation from high school, I had this conversation with the girl I was supposed to go to prom with (MIT bound, we liked each other, her parents didn’t want her distracted).  She was funny and smart, I cheated off her in Calculus pretty much the whole year.  She actually took time to try to teach me how to solve the problems.  What can I say?  I had soft eyes back then.

We were at the bus stop and she asked me what I planned to do with my life.  State school bound in a magnet school with Ivies and close, I said “Run a big organization.”  She laughs and tells me to be realistic.  So, I actually kinda did from a hidden behind the scenes position.  God and mysterious ways.

Over time, I also realized I wanted to strike back at evil.  I’m glad I didn’t tell her that, she would have been convulsing on the floor in even more disbelief.  Even that would have been too much.  But like so many things in my life – good and bad to come – I just knew.

Evil exists.  And you cannot wish it away.  This is one of the prevalent lies I’ve seen floating around.  The cartoons I was raised on (Transformers, GI Joe) elucidated the stark contrast between good and evil.  I’ve noticed that the animated shows that my daughter watches aren’t too bad in this regard.

But for a time there, I think cartoons didn’t do this so well.  It wasn’t a crazy observation.  I read a commentary on how the focus on getting along was in reality enabling bullying.

Perhaps it’s because I grew up in a corrupt Third World country or the immigrant experience.  Regardless, I was blessed to have done it in my own small way, even if it wasn’t always the most elegant or superhero like.