batman v joker

I've always been more sympathetic to the Joker than Batman.

I don't mean the violence and cruelty, we're ignoring that side of the Joker today. I mean the capacity for anarchy.

In a rough sense, the Joker is the part of your personality that says you are fine as you are. Batman is the part of you that expects more.

When I have conversations about politics, I notice that I'm more likely to take the chaotic position. What if we had fewer laws? What if we eased up on social institutions like religion or workplace culture? What if we ignore speech that we don't like? What if we let people do what they're already doing?

There are pro-chaos perspectives across the political spectrum. Americans like freedom.

When I have conversations about business, I ease up on all the chaos advocacy. It doesn't usually lead anywhere.

But plenty of voices want to play the role of Batman.

When they talk about business, they take the ordered position. What if you worked harder? Put in more hours? Removed distractions? Took care of your physical health?

This is good advice. Discipline is necessary to accomplish anything.

But life is so chaotic, there is always room to impose more order. What if you cancel Netflix? What if you stop drinking alcohol? What if you stop hanging out with friends? What if you abstain from sex outside of marriage? What if you eliminate everything that brings you joy in order to optimize for greater financial return?

I mean, there's an audience for this kind of scolding. Mostly guys, right? Guys are always willing to take some time out of their workday to hear a sermon about how they aren't working hard enough.

In the movies, Batman is also kind of a psycho. Not as bad as the Joker, but competitive.

Life is an infinite series of choices. The idea of an angel and devil on the shoulder is intuitive. The idea of just being the angel is not.

The choices give life the texture.

Entropy is worth fighting. The successes are worth celebrating.

And these two are entering the public domain in 2035, so get ready for that entire franchise to devolve into a pandemonium of competing storylines.