Page 27 - The Gluckman Occasional Number Eight

ACTOR: Uh, well, God created everything, right? So those
people made their own choice to be evil instead of good.

DEVIL: And you would always choose good over evil?

ACTOR: Certainly! It’s as clear as black and white!

DEVIL: But what about fighting fire with fire? Would you
commit an evil deed if it were against a greater evil?

ACTOR: Now, that sounds like some kind of trick question.
What are you, an evangelist? I’m already a Christian: you’re
wasting your breath.

DEVIL: Let me put it differently. Would you star in a movie in
which the hero battles against a treacherous adversary, but loses
because the only way he could win would be to lie and cheat as
much as the villain?

ACTOR: That depends. The audience likes you to stick to your
guns, even if it means losing a fight. I’ve played martyrs before,
you know.

DEVIL: But those movies always let the hero’s side win without
doing anything evil. He may lose his life, but something good has
been preserved—his family, his country, his cause. What if the
enemy were so powerful and so evil that nothing good could
survive the confrontation unless the hero resorted to the same
weapons being used against him? Then he would have to commit
evil deeds to ensure the survival of good. Would you take a role
like that?

ACTOR: That’s a tough one. I’m not sure how that would play in
Peoria. I’d have to see the script. It would have to be plain as day
that the good guy could pull dirty tricks and still be the good guy.
Who’s making this film? Where did they get the script?

DEVIL: It’s not a film, but there is a script. It’s based on an idea
I had myself. You have just given me the final inspiration I
needed to make it all believable. Now, would you like to see the
contract?