Do you think this is a game?

Sean Badgley's pledge to you: Whatever I write & whenever I write; it is with the explicit purpose of entertaining you, the reader, with an emotionally evocative and high quality product.

~S

I have begun to realize a simple yet profound truth about morality: A man's gotta pick his own path. You know, when it comes down to it, there is no right or wrong way to join a rebellion. To those just tuning in (welcome) I consider morality akin to the rebel alliance in star wars. This life is just a constant test of which side you belong on, and for many of us the answer is different each time. That being said, I think that there are those who choose to consistently rebel over their self interest when it does not jive with their beliefs on ethics and morality. These people are in a minority, but then so are saints amongst the damned (that sentence brought to you by my Catholic upbringing). Anyway, I figure there's no right or wrong way to join up with a rebel force. Each just brings to the table what they got and they all go at it with evil. I am never gonna be the guy who allows someone walk on me, it's not me, and I think that submissiveness and morality are not related, they simply tend to overlap in many places. The Chairman of the Council of Good disagrees, and I respect him for it.

I could be wrong.

Anyway, here's my latest strategy, instead of asking how not to do wrong, I spend my day trying to figure out how to do right. I'm damn sure not perfect nor close, but I never had a problem getting off my ass and do some work when the time comes. So I try to help friends whenever I can with whatever skill I possess that they may need. I am somewhat less risk averse than most, so now I stand up for what I think is right, even when I put myself in a theoretically dangerous position. I furthermore do this when I stand to gain nearly nothing for it. Am I being conned or helping someone? My gut feels good about it.

This morality is proving a hard test in many vital areas of my life, but I feel a heat within me again that I have grown to miss. I attribute that feeling in part to be a result of this project. Suddenly my sense of purpose and determination are again with me in my heart. Some may compare this to a religious awakening but I see it as a lifestyle change.

Basically, my evil is turning gay.

Just kidding. But in seriousness, I was recently named the Godfather my close friend's only child and first born son. I ask myself, as this child's godfather (incidentally, we don't have an obsession with pop culture, we're both Irish Catholic to one extent or another. A Godfather means something important to a child coming up in the world) A Godfather is a man you trust enough to bestow a title of trust upon one person dependable enough for the task. I am proud to be young Liam's Godfather. I tell you this, when he's 14 I'll be thirty eight and when he sees me then as when he sees me now, I will be a figure of understanding, support, and an unquestioned alliance during hard times for the duration of my life.

This is no game.

One of my relations lacks a father figure. Though he is surrounded by seven very well intentioned females, he has no way of understanding the world of men. I have not lead the most righteous path, but I am trying now and I have some idea about what it is to be a man. He is at an age where the presence of a strong male role model could drastically affect the course of his life and his short term difficulties. I can do that for him.

This is no game.

So understand, that while I may not be the favorite action figure in the chest. Do I claim to be Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker or even Hon Solo? No...those guys were bad ass. But I am at least Lando. Sure there are things in my past that I regret, but I'm doing my best now to help out the rebellion and hey I've got cloud city, which is a base you rebels desperately need for this war. Anyway, more tales from behind enemy lines later, haters.