a divisive nature

We were watching Samurai Deeper Kyo over the weekend and I and my husband enjoyed it immensely - there's a lot of action, and the plot had a lot of depth that I didn't expect it to have. I highly recommend it.

We couldn't help but talk about the theme on man's fascination with power in the story - how human beings seem to crave it, no matter what race or culture and that it is ingrained in us to seek it.

To summarize, in the beginning we are introduced to Mibu Kyoshiro -- a man who is inhabited by two souls, kyoshiro who believes in bringing healing to people, and Kyo, a destructive force with the singleminded desire to be the strongest there is. Kyo eventually takes over Kyoshiro's body for the majority of the series and the entire plot is centered on Kyo's search for his body, which kyoshiro sealed away in a secret place. This body becomes an object of desire as well for other forces who wish to use it's 'perfection' for their own ends. What we find out in the end is Kyo and Kyoshiro are one and the same - that because of Kyoshiro's desire to be rid of the burden of his capacity for destructive power, Kyo came into being and true to his nature, wreaked indiscriminate havoc upon the country.

In reflection it mirrors the man's struggle with his contradictory nature, embodied in a desire for both peace and power, as symbolized by the Yin and Yang on Kyo's kimono and the seemingly polar opposites of Kyoshiro and Kyo. Forever in conflict but impossible to separate from ourselves. People want to get along but crave the thrill of conflict. We like to preach peace but there's a part of our soul that hungers for and enjoys the adrenalin that comes from pitting ourselves against each other. It's part of our nature, which is why sporting events and contests are so popular.

I believe that our desire for peace keeps our desire for power in check and it is our desire for power that allows us to advance as individuals and a society. It's a simplistic idea, I'll admit but I think that it's this balance that preserves order in society, so long as the balance of power is sensible to everyone.

However I look around me today observe a tendency to overemphasize power in an effort to prove individual or cultural superiority rather than to preserve a sensible balance. We wonder why we can't seem to come together as a country let alone a global society and the truth is there is too great a shift in power to allow peace and order to truly take hold. In the end power becomes destructive as ruling societies seem to need more and more of it to maintain order. It's the appalling discrepancy in lifestyles in our country, the flagrant wealth in the face of grinding poverty that breeds mistrust and suspicion between classes.

But before anyone pulls me down from my pulpit, the truth is I can wail and b!atch all I want but the fact remains that I AM part of this system and I'm ashamed to say I haven't done as much as I should. Maybe the answer is out there, but it's something I probably wouldn't know what to do with.