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“Hell is other people seeing you for who you truly are”
Question: What was the right decision for Norma and Arthur to make at the end of the movie?
This is a highly subjective question, of course. On the surface, it looks like Norma boldly sacrificed her life to improve her son’s quality of life. And Arthur also bravely surrendered his life to a prison sentence. How altruistic, and a true noble way to lay down your own life for your children.
But aren’t these the same people who would KILL someone they don’t know for $1 million? What is it about not knowing someone, that makes murder morally justifiable?
Nothing.
The right decision would be for Norma and Arthur to save their own lives, and bring up their son with blindness and deafness. Laying down their lives for their son was the selfish thing to do. Selfish in the sense that they were trying to avoid the long-term pain of seeing their child suffer. Norma chose death, and Arthur chose prison.
Why do people lay down their lives for their children, yet at the same time are willing to take the life of a stranger for $1 million?
Emotions. It’s that simple.
Barring psychosis, if we have any emotional connection to a person, we can’t kill them; even an intense negative connection (sorry, Horrible Bosses). Pressing a button, and not knowing the person we are killing gives us the illusion that we somehow aren’t as responsible for the death of another. Logically, of course, we know we’re responsible. But emotionally, that’s another story.
Through the movie “The Box”, we learn how to make someone morally deviate. Make it as easy as possible for them to do so. I can hardly think of a more effective way than $1 million + the simple push of a button.
Sometimes the things we believe to be altruistic are actually the most selfish. Be careful as you make your way through the world of tempting solutions (quick fixes, make money schemes, etc.) They are attractive and alluring, but by simply considering them, we set ourselves up for disappointment.
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