Finding the Good

You know it’s always really cool for a dad when his son is into the same things that he’s into. When TWO sons share their passion for something with dad, it’s just God sent. Or maybe it’s genetic, but that will have to be proven. You see my two boys are HUGE Star Wars fans. It’s enough to make me want to cry tears of joy. And it’s not like I’ve driven it down their throats either. I’ve watched Star Wars with them, but I never forced them to do it with me. They have a Star Wars Wii game. I didn’t give it to them. It was still the game they played the most. I went to see Star Wars Clone Wars with them. When the series on Cartoon Network began shortly thereafter they put it to record on the DVR. I haven’t seen many of the episodes. They haven’t missed one. In fact, they’ve seen most of them multiple times. And over the last two weeks something interesting has happened in my house. Every other day my sons pull out a different Star Wars movie to watch during the day between my sons’ swimming classes (one has it in the morning, the other in the afternoon). They started with Return of the Jedi, and have been working backwards little by little towards Phantom Menace.

Now the main culprit here is actually my son, Marcos. Lucas really likes Star Wars, but Marcos LOVES Star Wars. In fact, my daughter is convinced that he’s obsessed by Star Wars. He just might be. Everything that seems interesting to him in life he can tie to a moment in “Star Wars time”. He’ll say something like “that’s like when Boba Fett was thrown into that things mouth in the sand, right?” Usually I have no idea where these links came from, but I still find it intriguing. And though this annoys the heck out of my daughter, I tend to think that there could be worse things he could be obsessed with… like Barney or something like that.

Today Marcos popped in Revenge of the Sith. It is definitely a dark movie and probably one that my seven year old shouldn’t have seen yet. In fact I think that to this day it is the only PG-13 movie I’ve allowed him to see. But it was Star Wars, so how could I say no… and now he’s seen it close to a dozen times. Anyway, this movie of course is the one where Anakin finally turns to the Dark Side of the Force, and goes out and destroys all the Jedi he can, thus becoming the embodiment of evil that so many people thirty-some years ago loved to hate. To me his story is one of the most intriguing stories ever put on film, and I think it is why I love Star Wars so much.

What is so intriguing to me about this story? It is a story about hope, and the fact that when all hope seems lost, there will always be a little glimmer until the very end. If we go back a couple of blogs, I spoke about people being inherently good, and this character embodies how a good man could go so wrong. Life dealt him some bad cards that he didn’t know how to play, so he quit the game and started doing his own thing. He was corrupted and let the good in him die. Now here’s where the story gets interesting. Once he turned “dark” pretty much everybody gave up on him, and assumed that there was nothing that could be done with him except destroy him. His master Obi-wan Kenobi tells Luke that his father is dead, and later upon finding out that Luke found out that Vader was his father, he told Luke that when Anakin turned to the dark side the good man that he was died and was “replaced” by Darth Vader. Luke’s mentor, Yoda, tells him something similar, pretty much telling him that there is no hope for Darth Vader. Now, it’s not like anyone else is looking to convert this guy back. Those with him don’t want to change him, and those against him wanted him dead. Even Leia, his daughter, upon finding out his identity tells Luke to run away rather than face him, for there was no hope for him. And yet Luke believed that there was good in the man. And nothing was going to change his mind. And why should it. The truth is that Luke was a good man, and the way he saw it, if he was good, then his father must have good in him. Wow! What a concept. Good begets good. It’s not that tough to wrap one’s head around that. It makes perfect sense. And in the end it is this hope, this search for the smidgen of good in this horrible being that eventually provides him with salvation.

Now when people see these movies everybody remembers that yes Vader was as evil as they came, but in the end he died GOOD. But these are the movies of course. We can justify that with fictitious characters, but not with REAL PEOPLE, can we? A couple of days ago Michael Jackson was bid farewell by his family. It was one last good bye for the King of Pop. Now the ceremony allegedly cost the taxpayers in LA $1.4 million which is crazy. That money should be paid by his family. But let’s not put that on MJ, shall we. I’ve already seen some TV stations talking about him like if that was HIS intention all along… ridiculous… he’s DEAD! The other thing that gets me are these blogs and comments about MJ saying that we shouldn’t care about the guy because after all he was a pedophile. And that’s what we are down to. The lasting image that many will have of him is based on something he allegedly did (and was BTW acquitted of). Do I think he did it… probably, but I can’t dwell on that. The truth is now that he’s gone let’s celebrate his life instead of condemn it. On top of all the great music he made, he did help millions of children around the world in his life with millions in donations and with first hand help. He also spear-headed one of the biggest fundraisers of all time when he co-wrote and produced the song We Are the World and helped produce the album for USA for Africa. One could always quote his sister and say “What have you done for me lately?” but the truth is he was probably hiding after all the punishment he was subjected to from the media for as long as anyone can remember. It’s enough to drive a man mad, and in his case I really think it did!

So now I’m a MJ supporter. Actually, no. I love his music, but this is about something bigger. This is about finding the good in people and REMEMBERING them for that good. Just as Michael was accused of being a pedophile, I have known a number of people accused of something similar. Now this is as heinous a crime/sin as exists, and anybody found guilty of such an act should pay the price. But I stop short when they are labeled as evil. Sick? Yes. Would I allow my kids to be around them? Noooooooooo. But are they evil. I don’t think so… they just need some major help. Are they damned to hell? Well, that’s really up to them, and if they are sorry for what they did or not.

One such person that was accused was Father Jose Nickse, the pastor of my former parish for over 25 years. He was accused by three separate individuals of improper conduct by a priest. He resigned his position as pastor, and fought these accusations. About 14 months into the investigation he was found dead on Christmas eve while on vacation. Nobody will now know the truth regarding this situation. Now Fr. Nickse was a mentor to me, and I defended him to the end. When I spoke to him he spoke very convincingly that he was innocent and I believed him. In the end though I may or may not know the truth. But if somebody were to give me proof tomorrow that he did the horrible things he was accused of, I would be extremely saddened, (and upset for being lied to) but it wouldn’t change how I’d remember him, because despite all his flaws, he did many great things and helped many people throughout his life, and most of them well after the time in his life during which the alleged instances occurred. He was a good man, and I shall remember him that way.

Father Nickse’s best friend was Fr. Gus Miyares. Years after Nickse’s death, Miyares himself was accused of misconduct. In a shocking turn of events he admitted to the inappropriate behavior and immediately resigned his position as pastor of his parish. Now I knew Gus personally also. He was a spiritual man who did amazing things for his parishes and for his parishioners. He fought for the youth and always made sure that they understood that there was a place in the church for them, something that I see few priests do nowadays. Now, thirty years ago, he made a huge mistake. And the consequences are just and deserved. But what he did thirty years ago does not negate all the good he did since then. It does put a giant blemish on him as a person, but you know, it’s God’s place to deal with that blemish, not ours. The truth is that Gus was very kind to me always and never made me feel uncomfortable around him. He never should have done what he did, but he does seem very sorry for it. Shouldn’t we then go and look for the good in him, and realize that he is not evil, just a human who made a very grave mistake. I for one will do as Luke did with his father and see the good in him, because there definitely was much good there.

Let’s take this one step further. My parents, as well as the parents of many of my friends, were exiled from Cuba almost 50 years ago. They had to flee the land they were born in and loved so much because of a dictator who came in and took everything they had. In the case of my father, he took his brother. Now, I am not going to pretend that I will ever be able to look at this man and remember the good in him. I have trouble seeing any redeeming qualities in this guy. But here’s the difficult truth. There is still hope for the guy. As long as their is breath in his lungs, there is hope that he can save his very soul. For years, the Cubans in exile have prayed for his demise. Few (though I know a few who have) have prayed for his conversion. But isn’t that what she should have been praying for all along? Isn’t that what we are called to do? And though I probably wouldn’t be able to see it myself, there is probably some good left in this guy, just hidden underneath layers of greed and apathy and hatred for God knows what. But maybe what he’s needed all along is for someone to tell him that they see good in him, that he doesn’t need to finish life on this path he chose. Do I think he’ll convert? I think there’s a greater chance it will snow in Havana in August than to see him change paths, but there is that chance… (in the words of Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber when told he has a one in a million chance with the girl of his dreams, “So you say that there’s a chance”). I will choose to pray for the pitiable figure. And just imagine if on his deathbed he does repent for all that he did. I as a Catholic do believe that if he is truly remorseful and asks our Lord for forgiveness that it would be granted to him. And here’s the kicker… if this were to happen I truly believe that when he shows up at the pearly gates what would be awaiting him would be the party of the century attended by all those whom he had wronged and then passed on, for I believe that those in the grace of God would be ecstatic at the idea that this man finally realized the error in his ways. It would be the ultimate Prodigal Son story.

You guys all probably think I’m fried. And that’s OK. But I like having hope. Hope makes every day that much easier to get through. Even if you don’t get what you hope for, anticipation usually brings about some pretty good feelings in the meantime. So I say to all of you, emulate the great Jedi Luke Skywalker. The guy was not perfect, and was really whiny at times especially in the original Star Wars, but he never lost hope and always looked for the good in others… Han, Lando, and most importantly Vader. Maybe my sons are obsessed with Star Wars as my daughter claims, but I’ll repeat, there are probably worse things they could be obsessed with. And who knows maybe these two kids of mine will inherit the hope (New Hope) of their namesake from the Star Wars movie. (LUKE Skywalker was played by MARK Hamill… my sons are LUCAS and MARCOS… no not coincidence, but my wife still thinks she picked both names ) I wouldn’t mind if they learned that from him at all.