Only the Good Die Young

          Spoiler Alert!  She was innocent and idealistic.  She was courageous and adventurous.  She was compassionate and true to her convictions.  And they killed her off.  I’m referring to Sybil, the Earl of Grantham’s daughter, and wife to Tom, “the chauffer,” as he is called by the Dowager Countess.  If you are clueless at this point let me explain that these are all characters in the wildly popular Masterpiece Theater drama, “Downton Abbey,” an “Upstairs, Downstairs,” kind of British soap opera which is in its third season on local public TV stations.

          Sybil was my wife’s favorite character in this drama which has seduced us.  The dynamics of relationships between the downstairs servants and the upper crust nobles who reside in the sprawling environs of the Abbey continue to compel our viewing in a way no American drama seems able to do.  When Sybil died in childbirth last night we were shocked.  My wife is in mourning.  It’s almost as if we feel the need to attend the funeral. 

          Mostly, Sybil’s death struck me because it seemed unfair.  There are so many flawed characters in the show, some just foolish, others despicable.  Why couldn’t have they killed off one of the more dislikable crew?  I suppose that wicked characters help the plot move along in interesting ways.  But there seems to be so much injustice in the world, I suppose I would like my TV entertainment to pamper me at least with the illusion of justice.

          Something within us hungers for justice.  My wife remembers in childhood reacting to parental decisions by yelling out, “I protest!”  I remember our daughter having a keen sense of justice growing up.  In an upside down world we yearn for things to be right side up – for the poor to have dignity, for the good to thrive, for the wicked to perish.

          I am grateful that I can still feel the outrage of Sybil’s death, even if it is all a fiction.  The sense of outrage makes me realize that I have not become numb to injustice.  When there is so much out of balance in our world and the wicked seem to thrive it is tempting to cave in – to throw in the towel and give up our integrity.  The fact that any of us can still feel anger about something that strikes us as wrong gives me hope that maybe we’ll do something about it.  I think it was Martin Luther King, Jr., who said, “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for the good people of the world to do nothing.” 

          I can’t do much with the scriptwriters of “Downton Abbey,” and their decision to end Sybil’s role in the drama, but I can allow my anger to lead me to thoughtful action in response to real injustices I witness in the world around me.  Such anger might be called righteous.  Be grateful if you still can still feel it.