Yes, we’re tackling one of the big ones this week: Love. Right off the bat, I want to say I am not going to define love. If you don’t know what love is, maybe when you read this you’ll catch on. Also, I want to make it clear that love is not just a physical/emotional attraction. That’ll give you a hint if you don’t already know.
Also, I need to tell you what precipitated this rant on love. It was a reviewer of my book, The Children of Raven’s Reach. Normally, I look at reviews and try to be neutral and just listen to what they are saying. It’s important to me to be able to take criticism because I know that is the path to improvement. This reviewer had much to say about how they enjoyed the book. The characters were real, the plot was interesting, the mixture of science and magic were impressive as was the way the important issues were dealt with although the reviewer was troubled by the child trafficking aspect of it. Lots of good comments! They ended with:
It is a fascinating story that makes you think about the world we live in and how much could be happening right under our noses, while at the same time delivering incredible doses of fiction, magic, and supernatural beings.
Normally, I don’t take reviews personally. I realize all of us have different points of view and think differently, etc. I can forgive someone for a negative comment or rating based on that knowledge. However, though their final rating (4/5 stars) did not bother me, the comment as to why did:
The only aspect that bothered me was the idea that “love conquers all evil.” Considering everything the novel presents, I found that message somewhat childish. To me, this is a story that takes itself too seriously for such a romanticized concept.
Now the American Heritage Dictionary defines evil as wicked, something morally bad or wrong. I beg to differ. To me evil is the absence of love. Evil and love are like oil and water- you can emulsify them so it looks like they mix, but the minute you stop shaking the bottle, love goes its way and evil goes another way. Tell this to the CIA who obviously thinks that doing evil deeds in the name of doing good won’t come back to bite like an enraged demon.
In my book, love plays an important part. It provides the energy to fight evil. Some people don’t realize how much power is in love. Love’s power is mostly subtle, sometimes hidden, and shows itself in the small things more than huge productions. Evil, on the other hand, demands the limelight, big things happening to show off its power (explosions, fires, and flashing lights are preferred) and lofty words to impress people.
Just because it’s not as visible, doesn’t mean it has little power. I have seen love’s power firsthand in a dying woman yelling, “I love you,” to her husband with her last breath, a skinny little guy picking up a huge, muscled man and throwing the man more than ten feet before he hits the ground in an effort to protect someone he loved, and I have read of someone lifting a car off of someone they loved as well. Love has provided the energy and creativity to produce incredible works of art and other structures. It has been the driving force for fantastic journeys because of its bond.
There is no question in my mind that love is a powerful force, but could it defeat evil? If not, how can we defeat evil? Some people try to use guns, bombs, directed energy and other weapons. Come on! Evil is an idea, a thought, and a feeling. The thing about ideas, thoughts and feelings is you can blow the person having them away and the person is gone but the idea persists and will probably grow as a result of you trying to destroy it. That’s a lesson our government has never learned. You can only fight ideas with a better idea. In this case, in the fight against evil, the better idea is love.
In any case, how do you fight and destroy evil? If you have any suggestions, please let me know. I am eager to hear your thoughts. Until I find a better answer, I’ll just stick with love as the most powerful force against evil there is and I don’t believe that’s childish at all.