So I have been watching movies about professional killers tonight. I figure there are two kinds of people who watch those movies. One kind asks themselves “how could anyone do that in real life?” The other sort of person asks “I wonder if I could do that job?”
The first question is probably the most common question. After all killing is something we all pretty much understand is wrong. We also know that we’d feel guilty about killing innocent people. And of course there is who whole punishment thing. So we wonder what sort of a person could overcome all those natural instincts, all that lifetime of learning that killing is wrong, and all that potential punishment – internal and external – and go out and kill people for money.
And then there are the people, and I have no idea how many there are out there, who ask themselves if they could do it. In a sense it is the same question as the first question with one difference. The difference is that they are really asking if they are the sort of person who could kill for money. I figure that most people answer the question in the negative. What does it mean to ask that question though? That’s not something I’m sure about. What do you think?