Mindful Enemies
an essay about monsters and the moral imagination
June 20, 2024 Emarcea G Forest
Monsters have a purpose: they not only provoke the expression of one’s innermost fears, but they also test one’s senses of morality. Even so, the true meaning of the act that monsters play within the moral imagination is often ignored by many. People tend to create monsters as a result of their inability to control the world around them, usually by means of a traumatic experience. That same monster stands as a representation of human vulnerabilities and their crises. Moreover, it is through these experiences that one can build an ethical and morally appropriate standard for the “way things should be” in said person’s conscience. The history of humanity has repeatedly acknowledged that the most important thing for a human to do is stay vigilant, as well as unafraid, but the modern world often ignores the word of its ancestors for they are not entirely relevant to the common ignorant human and one’s conveniences despite any monsters, real or imaginary, they may have.
Monsters feed off fear, but the tools to challenge and overcome that feeling are in the forefront of anyone’s life, it just takes an open mind to reach the answer. Life itself and the art that has been created by the living, mutually speak to conquer vulnerabilities, allows some to see monsters as a beneficial tool and use their own vulnerability to an advantage. For instance, some people come out of traumatic experiences stronger than they were before because they decided at one point that it is no longer worth it to fear anything, like taking their monsters and chaining them to a tree. The word “monster” itself is usually taken as a reasonable resentment over the inhumanity of some common or personal foe, yet still manages to be so subjective to any real explanation. The top 3 definitions, according to Merrian-Webster are: “an animal or plant of abnormal form or structure; one who deviates from normal or acceptable behavior or character,” then “a threatening force” and “an animal of strange or terrifying shape; one unusually large for its kind.” Most of the supernatural resin that is stuck to the word itself is due to westernized ways of thinking. The reason being may be because the idea of inhuman threats are greater reminders of one’s own humanity, but a troubling truth still remains: any person will always have the ability to create their own reality, so why must it be based off fear?
Through my own ignorance, I would say that the moral imagination is our guide to what we live by. Each daily encounter coincides to build an ethical and moral standpoint to how one views the world, themselves and the universe. Through imagining certain scenarios, one creates a deeper and more detailed moral of their character, furthering to outline what they see as individuals of good or evil. Consequently, the morals of that scenario are thought to be certain until something bad happens and that moral standpoint is somehow challenged. Believers in human progress and evolution think that monsters are disappearing. And while it is true that today’s society is plagued with vulnerabilities, from deadly viruses to political propaganda to global disasters due to climate change, one might wonder why modern society has instilled fear in every crack and corner? Some would think that humans are far more complex than to be dealing with such an inferior system, almost as if most of the population is being brainwashed into thinking and doing certain things for the benefit of said monsters. Indeed, today’s era has erased the natural world from the equation of “how to be successful” and made the product somewhat of a twisted answer that really only benefits those who put the system in place, but the fact of the matter is: humans are energy, organic material of the natural world, in which case being with and around other natural material is necessary, at least sometimes, to be healthy.
Societies from human past hold many potential answers and ideas that should have more consideration towards their presentation, if one was to take a better evaluation of the way humans should be living their lives. Take Göbekli Tepe for example: a lost civilization, full of mysteries, highly advanced, and ahead of their time. What exactly happened to the society is still unknown: all theoretical and subjective ideas based on the physical structure still stand today. If one were to consider the potential monsters that could have been intertwined into the society, it would also be very subjective, but the proof of there even being things as such isn’t known. The culture seemed to have abundant sources of knowledge and wisdom, considering the time of which it was alive for. Their monsters could have been something much greater than a physical being or imaginative thought, but again, who’s to know? Maybe humanity’s way of living is supposed to lead to failure as a punishment from the gods or the universe, as humans are not divine or perfect creatures, they are simply a lesser version of a divine being. History is proven to repeat itself many times, and there has yet to be a civilization to master the peaceful, simply complex, and harmonic ways of nature, but that is up to a togetherness of humanity to make the change. The typical day-to-day life most people live does not match up to a harmonious lifestyle, it is just purely based upon mastering the system and trying to stay away from things they fear, or the fundamentals of what some may speak of a matrix or simulation.
The point of speaking of lost civilizations like Göbekli Tepe is that it is actually very relevant to current culture. Most people live with great amounts of fear: fear of physical or metaphysical monsters, fear of death, fear of not having money, not fulfilling every desire, not having a good job, etc. Humans did not rise to the level of intellect they have today just so they can master the system and avoid their fears. Rather, it is most important to learn how to conquer one's fears, or at least accept and respect the feelings associated. Art can become a powerful tool for acceptance for not only the artist, but also for its viewers. Beyond mere entertainment, an artist can serve their community by providing these important moral visions and convictions. Without the risk of preaching, good stories can serve to present moral truths by using these monsters in dignity and corruption. The tools and resources are in the forefront of life, created by others who have learned to take fear as a factor of their success story and multiply it with wisdom and knowledge of what is truly important in life. There is no correct answer to the problem because each person has different fears and different goals for themselves, but the point of solving the equation is to be happy and healthy. The only thing that blocks most people from conquering such ideas is the human ignorance that plagues the population.
It could be possible that the monsters of modern time will cease to exist at a certain point, but will it take the fall of humanity for that to happen? Will today’s society have to become a lost civilization so that the very few survivors will find the chance to rebuild a community without fear? Is this even possible? At this point, are humans just waiting for the earth to correct itself and humanity’s mistakes? It’s quite possible that today’s society will never be able to reach the point of peace. It seems that humans will always need monsters as a beneficial tool to know where they stand and as a reminder of the essence of humanity. What monsters really are to humanity are a reminder of being imperfect creatures. Nevertheless, monsters did not just rise upon their own upbringing, they are created through human consciousness, through definitions of good an evil, so why shouldn’t life go on without the threat of such enemies? Without these fatal definitions and polarities?
