Ruby Cayenne

Aristotle thought a lot about what it takes to be the best version of ourselves. His conclusion was that virtue is the predominant trait needed to “do the right thing.” Virtue is considered practical wisdom that is a learned trait, allowing a person to always know what to say, diffuse tense situations, deliver difficult news with grace, be confident without being arrogant, be brave without being reckless, and be generous without being extravagant.

Aristotle said that “having virtue just means doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right way, in the right amount, toward the right people.” This is, in every regard, a vague statement, but being good is not something that should need to be spelled out. The idea of goodness being found in the middle ground of any action, behavior, thought or feeling is an idea that has been talked about by many scholars, philosophers, and those with wisdom. The novel Siddhartha references this same thought process, as well as The Four Agreements, as two excellent examples of the salience of balance. 

The vice of excess and the vice of deficiency, referenced by Aristotle, are the two extremes that are easily and often displayed in human behavior. The ability to find the “golden middle ground,” i.e., balance, is the key to living a virtuous life because the “right” action always seems to be at the midpoint between the two extremes. 

I had never before heard of the word Eudaimonia but am delighted to now know it and work to understand it. The word’s meaning encompasses a life well lived, human flourishing, a life of striving, and the idea that you are never done improving. This vast and complex meaning largely speaks to the overall idea of a growth mindset. Thomas Aquinas had a similar understanding, though his theory came through a religious lens. Aristotle influenced Aquinas’s understanding of virtue and although Aquinas viewed virtue as a trait bestowed to humans by God, the substance of the theory is largely the same, which is quite intriguing. 

In regard to the film Do the Right Thing, the main thing that intrigued me and caused me to further consider the thoughts and theories of Aquinas and Aristotle was that everyone in the film seemed to live in the extreme. There is a clear lack of balance in people’s lives. This observation caused me to think about the intention of that in the film. I wonder if that trait of the film, with respect to the different environments portrayed in the film, was meant to display how hectic environments and hate can disrupt the possibility of balance. 

Most of the actions and communication from characters like Mook, Pino, Vino, Tina, Sal, and others are on the extreme of excess. To me, Da Mayor most represents the middle ground, or at times the extreme of deficiency. One scene that struck me most in the film was when Da Mayor gave money to a kid to buy him a beer. Upon seeing that, a group of older folks come over and begin saying disrespectful things to him. I

In a striking quote, Da Mayor tells them that “unless you done stood in the door, listened to your five hungry children crying for bread, and you can’t do a damn thing about it. Your woman standing there, you can’t even look her in the eye. Unless you done that, you don’t know me, my pain, my hurt, my feelings. You don’t know shit! Don’t call me bum don’t call me drunk. You ain’t got the sense that God gave a billy goat. Don’t call me nothing. It’s disrespectful. I know your mamas and your papas raised you better.” 

The man he was talking to disregards everything he says and states “I don’t respect nobody that don’t respect themselves.” To him, he saw Da Mayor as passive to such an extent he wouldn’t even help his own family, but he himself is acting on the other extreme of excess. This interaction, to me, is a representation of how either extreme is destructive, and a virtuous life can only be found through balance.