Also reminds me a bit of this quote from GK Chesterton (paraphrased): “Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed."
Shout out to Scooby Doo for teaching kids that weirdness always had a misbehaving adult behind it and that no-one is above the law
I really like the sentiment, although brave knights were just violent aristocrats - the most commonly met cruel enemy throughout history.
AKAB
Serf lives matter
Not back then they didn’t
It actually would have been a harsher term back in those days to be called a bastard. They took that shit serious.
We’re talking about fiction though. Fictional knights can be brave and heroic.
I mean I guess but it seems like honest police or benevolent kings - they can exist in fiction but then the fiction loses any relevance to the real world.
Kids can still aspire to be like them. Would you rather some kid grows up to be in a leadership position who’s been inspired by Trump?
I would rather children are inspired to not be leaders at all. Good role models can exist, they’re just never in a position of social power.
Power is inherently corrupting. History shows this time and again. Popular wisdom captures this. Neuroscience shows that power supresses a human brain’s capability for empathy.
In the real world, pursuing individual power always results in far more evil than good. Stories that whitewash the reality of power do not make the world better.
