WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT: No One Ever Said Life Was Fair

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It came to me while watching one of those true crime programs on cable TV. This one happened to be the untold story of Charles Manson and his misanthropic minions. Near the end of the program, I wondered that despite the fact the Manson will forever be known as a monster and died alone in prison, if he had, in the end, really ultimately accomplished his goal?

Charles Manson? Really? Hear me out.

Most of us would like to believe that the world has an innate sense of justice, i.e. a good life is rewarded in one way or another, while a bad one brings with it corresponding punishment. And, most of the world's religions preach the paradigm that if those tenets do not come to pass in this world, they certainly will in the next.

Well, I cannot speak with any certainty of what happens in the afterlife (should there even be one). However, in this life, I believe that things are not quite that simple.

Let's take Manson as an example.

First, as a human being, he was insignificant in so many ways. He was diminutive in stature, only about 5'6". Despite having a relatively high IQ, he was poorly educated having attended high school and some college but never formally graduating. His mother was just 16 when she had him and he never experienced a stable home life. Manson was in and out of reform schools and prisons beginning at the age of 9. He fancied himself a songwriter and musician but never achieved any real success at either. He never really had any professional life (except murder) to speak of.

Yet, in the end, he DID achieve his ultimate goal. And, that was to become famous. And, that Manson did in spades!

You may argue that he didn't become famous but, rather, infamous. However, to me, in this case, that's just a matter of semantics. Manson didn't give a shit if any remembrance of him is associated with evil. The fact that you remember him is enough. Bizarrely, he may even be seen as a type of immortal. His name and foul deeds will live on long after you and I are gone.

Mission accomplished.

Yes, that sucks but that's how life often goes - and, it has been that way for centuries. John Milton (1608-1674), in his epic poem, Paradise Lost, has the ultimate Evil Character, Satan, explain his motivation for risking everything and being cast into hell by saying; Better to rule in hell, than serve in heaven.

Satan is not interested in living a good life of servitude - and, neither was Manson. Both had a lust for power and control over others, no matter the personal cost. They were willing to pay the price for their infamy to achieve their so-called immortality. And, in some perverse way, it worked. Will Manson's soul be condemned to never find peace? Perhaps. But, we will never know that for sure.

I know that considering the brutality of his crimes it is difficult to see anything human in Charles Manson. We can call him a monster yet he was one of us. He even lived to the ripe old age of 83.

Yes, my friends, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, no one ever said life was fair.