I'm A Villain In Someone's Story

I’m A Villain in Someone’s Story

John Paul Derryberry

"All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances,

And one man in his time plays many parts," 

Jaques, As You Like It- Shakespeare

We have Disney Plus now, and of course, I said it would be great for the girls when they are a little older. We can share all classics with them. On truth serum, I would admit the only thing I was thinking about was getting access to watch all the Marvel superhero movies. I'm a, not going to hide it, comic book dork! Any good comic-book story is only as good as it's villain. Loki, the adopted brother, is always overlooked by his big non-adopted brother. Thanos is looking to balance the universe because he feels too many people are causing suffering. Ultron never asked to be created, and once he was he decided, the only way for humans to know peace was through submission. 

Each villain is wrong, misguided, and uses faulty reasoning to come to their conclusion. Yet two things remain true. There is always a sliver of truth to their motives. And, most importantly, they never view themselves as the villain. They are the hero of their story. In their twisted view, they are saving the day. They are restoring order, peace, and finally overcoming the long odds and goals that they were denied. 

It's a dangerous game to always think you are the hero. Disastrous outcomes lie before anyone who doesn't realize they are the villain in some people's stories. I know for a fact that some people have accounts where I'm the villain, and while my version my be different, that does not mean their version is untrue. There is a bad guy/gal in all of us, and it has, from time to time, reared its ugly head. The best of us realize this and attempt to counter those bad intentions with a support system that stops us. We create a check and balance on our actions. Even good intentions can lead to a villainous outcome when you don't know to  stop at certain moral checkpoints. 

Trump not being able to admit he has made mistakes during the Pandemic is evil at its core. With over 160,000 dead and the number growing, mistakes were made. He fancies himself the hero, not the villain, but it's clear what role he plays on the world's stage. Hillary writing a book blaming everyone for her loss to Trump except herself is villain-blaming 101. Heroes always own a piece of the outcome. Maybe you are a devout Christian (faith) but slander the LGBTQ crowd--wrong. Perhaps you created a successful business (responsibility) but pay your employees less than a living wage--evil. Maybe you were the young 22-year-old looking for love (noble) but found it at a high school party--gross. Every action described above could be heroic or evil, depending on the path you take. 

Shakespeare wrote such exact words: we are all on stage, and we are all actors in others' lives. It's just not our point of view that matters. We can tell ourselves we are the hero of the story, but if everyone else views us as the villain, then we are the villain. Do we have the courage to listen? Do we have the flexibility to change course? Do we have confidence that changing won't ruin us? The answer for many leaders right now is no, they do not. 

The second half of Shakespeare's quote is often left out, but it is the key to this mess. And one man (woman) in their lifetime plays many parts. Heroes, real heroes, know there is a wrong path they could take because every strength comes with a weakness. They know they can be a villain, heck, I have been a villain. I hope those who have me as the villain in their story have seen the changes I've made and found peace that I've made those changes because of their truth. I'm no hero, but I'm no longer a villain. I'm doing my best to play my part to the best of my ability. I'll let my audience inform me of the role I'm playing, the world would be a better place if we did that instead of believing the story we tell ourselves.