The moral of the story

Just as if I had grown up in a good Jewish household, my family taught by allegory and story—much like the parables of the New Testament. As a result, my daughter has learned that just about anything in her life could be the jumping point for education. Most recently she has been subjected to the morality tales hidden in many of the stories of Greek Mythology. She started out by enjoying a game of Poptropica with me on the computer. The online world takes children to fantasy places, often based on history or mythology. Links within the game take the child to sites where they can learn the real-life story associated with the characters, places, or events in the games.

The game she is currently playing teaches her about the ancient Greek gods. She showed such interest that we incorporated the television show, “Hercules, the Legendary Journeys,” into our regular family activities. After the show we frequently discuss the differences between the legends as they have been handed down and the story depicted in the television series.

I was struck by the common theme running throughout the show, wondering just how much the current beliefs of the writers and directors have influenced the central characters. In several episodes our hero, known for his strength and might, refuses to fight. He opts, instead, for the non-violent answer, telling his antagonist that he refuses to hurt others for someone’s pleasure. Invariably someone whines, “But you promised to fight for us,” to which Hercules responds, “No, I promised to help.” Hercules doesn’t knuckle under to peer-pressure—he always does what he knows to be right, despite demands to give in. Sounds to me like the Hercules of the television is based more on the Son of God than on the son of Zeus.

This is among my favorite morals: when someone asks for assistance, they don’t always immediately realize that the answer to their prayer has arrived. We sometimes see only one possible solution or conclusion. We need to be open-minded enough to recognize that others exist—and often the best answer is the one that hurts the least number of people.