Movie Life Lessons: "Pain"
What Captain James T. Kirk can teach us about our pain.
“Left and right can’t seem to agree on anything these days, but on the subject of suffering there is near consensus: eradicating it in full is the common goal of government, technology, medicine, and science. - Katherine Boyle; TFP.
“I need my pain”
-Captain Kirk
Pain can come in many forms - physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual. And no matter how we experience it, pain is an inevitable part of the human experience. But what if I told you that pain can be a good thing? What if I told you that pain can help us grow and become better versions of ourselves?
Today’s MOVIE LIFE LESSON comes courtesy of the legendary Captain James T. Kirk from Star Trek VI: The Final Frontier”. In the movie, Captain Kirk gives a powerful speech about how pain can shape us into who we are.
“I’ve made the wrong choices in my life, that I should have turned left when I should have gone right….I know what my weaknesses are…pain and guilt can’t be taken away with the wave of a magic wand. They’re the things we carry with us the things that make us who we are. If we lose them we lose ourselves. I don’t want my pain taken away. I need my pain.”
These words are so true, and they resonate with many of us who have experienced pain in our lives.
The lesson occurred to me while reading a post on Bari Weiss’s Substack “The Free Press” written by Katherine Boyle in her regular series “Get Serious”. Ms. Boyle writes about our cultures attempt to eradicate pain and some of the results of those efforts.
“Left and right can’t seem to agree on anything these days, but on the subject of suffering there is near consensus: eradicating it in full is the common goal of government, technology, medicine, and science. - Katherine Boyle; TFP.
Ms. Boyle’s article was inspired in part by her own pregnancy, as well as a scene in the movie 1917 Ms. Boyle watched many times that shows soldiers on the battlefield being having their limbs amputated.
In the article, Miss Boyle references everything from the pain of childbirth to the pain experienced on the battlefield, to the literal campaign to “end pain: led by the American medical establishment which led to the endorsement of Oxycontin as a side-effect-free pain killer. This decision pretty clearly led to a nationwide opioid addiction epidemic that has led to 100,000 overdose deaths, mostly from fentanyl in 2021 alone.
What about Big Tech’s efforts? Google, whose original maxim, painted on the lobby wall of its first headquarters was taken from the Hippocratic oath, primum non nocere: “first do no harm.” Except, along the way, Google and Facebook and Twitter, and most other large tech companies and social media platforms to redefine what constitued “harmful speech.” (Also, along the way, Google erased the slogan “first do no harm” from their offices).
Suddenly, according to the techies, as well as those sharing a similar leftist ideological worldview, words could cause pain. Not just emotional pain, but actual physical pain as well. They were considered a form of aggression.
The result?
Vast censorship of ideas that in any way were seen as “harmful” to individual users. This was predictable. As Ms. Boyle points out, “In a culture that has no reverence or tolerance for suffering of any kind, even the smallest forms of it can seem like oppression.”
Not surprisingly, this censorship extended to any ideas deemed harmful to the tech companies themselves, and worse, to the government. This of course is a perverse inversion of our fundamental beliefs and constitutionally guaranteed God-given rights, which often get invoked in these matters. Therefore, it’s worth remembering that we have the right to pursue our happiness. Not to be free of pain and hardship while we do.
From a Christian perspective, pain and suffering are the result of the original sin committed by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. As a consequence, humans live in a fallen world where pain, disease, and death exist. However, God allows pain to exist to bring about spiritual growth, compassion, and empathy in humans.
From a Buddhist perspective, pain and suffering are part of the human experience, and they arise from craving, attachment, and ignorance. The goal of Buddhism is to end suffering by attaining enlightenment, which involves recognizing the true nature of reality and overcoming attachment and desire.
From a philosophical perspective, pain and suffering are part of the natural order of the universe, and they serve to motivate humans to seek pleasure and avoid harm. Without pain, humans would not be able to survive or grow. Pain also serves as a reminder of our mortality and the impermanence of life.
What if we could get rid of our pain altogether as the antagonist, Sybot, offers Kirk, Bones, and Spock?
Is that wise?
In The Matrix, An agent tells Morpheus that the first design of the matrix program created a perfect world “where no one suffered. Where everyone was happy.” Then he tells Morpheus, “it was a disaster. No one accepted it. As a species human beings define their reality through misery and suffering.” He explains that humans kept trying to wake up from their unearned perfect world.
Or as Ms. Boyle realizes: “Though we may not realize it, nearly all of our modern cultural debates and ailments stem from the contemporary belief that suffering is not a natural or essential part of the human condition. The war on suffering has not only robbed us of resilience; it has sold us a mirage that is making us miserable.”
Captain Kirk knew that pain was a necessary part of life. That it can be a great motivator. It can push us to do things we never thought possible. It can make us stronger, more resilient, and more compassionate. and that it could be used to make us better people. He understood that pain could help us become more understanding of ourselves, and of one another.
So, so what are our choices when it comes to pain? How do we deal with it? Should we continue to push forward technologically, culturally, individually to a place where we pretend it doesn’t exist?
One way is to embrace pain. To use our pain to motivate us to take action, to push us forward. Instead of trying to avoid or ignore our pain, we can face it. Head on. We can accept our pain and channel it. Into something positive and purposeful.
Our pain can teach us. It informs us. Our pain let us know we are alive. Pain reveals things about ourselves.
We should ask ourselves what we can learn from our pain. What insights into ourselves and our lives can we gain. Then we can use that knowledge to better equip ourselves to handle future challenges.
In conclusion, pain is a natural part of life, and it can be a powerful motivator.
As Captain Kirk said, "I need my pain.”
So do we all. It’s part of who we are. To deny our pain or attempt to fully anesthetize it, is to erase part of our identities as individuals.
Captain Kirk understood this. We should take his lesson to heart.