Subject: Re: [FFML] A Challenge: Might vs. Right
From: David Hart Siegel
Date: 10/28/1998, 3:46 AM
To: Matthew Lewis
CC: ffml@fanfic.com

You confuse things here:
Might does NOT make right.
Might, unfortunately, makes VICTORY.
This sad state of affairs prevails in the real world, and in the more
realistic (and some of the less realistic) fictional worlds.
Frequently, the Right are also the Mighty, but this is set from the
beginning so that Right will triumph in works of fiction(Kenshin is both
Right and Mighty. These really don't have any relation. He was, at one
point, Mighty and Wrong, but he was still Victorious.) In the real world,
the Right is frequently the Mighty through Luck or (IMHO)sometimes through
divine intervention.
 The Triumph of The UnMighty Right over the Mighty Wrong is frequently
referred to as "David and Goliath", but even then, the Right gain Might
from an outside source or were somehow truly mighty from the
beginning, (The Help of God, in the example of the source
of the idiom, or, for instance, Protoculture in Macross (The Zentraedi are
Mighty, but the Right have "Song" and "Lyrics", which are Mightier, even
if the Right themselves are weaker.))

Of course, often in fiction, Right makes Might, a good example of which is
SM. She is able to eradicate her enemies in very impressive style through
the power (Might) of love and justice (Right), or, of course, see the
above references to divine intervention and assistance (The Right gain
Might from their Rightness).

The only time I've seen anything ACTUALLY espousing "Might Makes Right"
(The strong are the rightful infallible rulers and victors) is when it is
actively cynical (Nietzche, who I STRONGLY disagree with), or
"entertainment" based purely around depictions of battle (Hokuto No Ken
espouse Might Makes Right completely).

Disagree? Please, email me. I'd love to talk more on this, or to have
holes poked in my arguments. From dialogue emerges truth.

David Siegel
dhs28@columbia.edu
There can be neither a totally absolute morality nor a total abcense of
any morality. Either way lies the doom of humanity.