You Might Have To Fight
A lesson in people-pleasing from Avatar: The Last Airbender
Those who have swords and know how to use them, but keep them sheathed, will inherit the world.
JORDAN PETERSON
As the “Avatar,” Aang is the only person alive who can master all the elements of Fire, Air, Water, and Earth to bring balance to the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender…But Aang has a big problem: he is an Airbender, brought up as a monk in one of the temples of a peaceful, nomadic people. Killing or even eating meat goes against his beliefs as a borderline pacifist. The very art of “bending” air is about putting distance between oneself and an opponent, using the air to redirect and deter attacks. Avoidance.
Yet, somehow, Aang is supposed to defeat Fire Lord Ozai, a dictator who shows his enemies no mercy and who will kill the Avatar if given the opportunity. Slowly, it dawns on Aang that he may have to take a life in order to restore the balance between the elements. He’s mortified.
If Aang becomes an executioner, he fears he’ll no longer know himself. Thankfully, as the Avatar, Aang can commune in meditation with every Avatar from the past and seek their counsel. Imagine the despair he feels when the apparition of Avatar Yangchen, a fellow Airbender, tells Aang that while he was raised by the monks to pursue enlightenment and detachment from worldly concerns, “Selfless duty calls you to sacrifice your own spiritual needs and do whatever it takes to protect the world.”
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Aang ends up threading the needle—neutralizing the villain’s threat without resorting to bloodshed. He fights back, but he maintains discipline. That’s what makes him a hero instead of a doormat.
Have you ever known someone who either clearly didn’t know how to stand up for themselves or acted as if they were without rights to ever fight back? A husband, whose wife dresses him down daily for the world to see. A wife who endures limitless condescension from her husband and is dismissed at every turn if she even dares to speak up for herself. A colleague, who takes it on the chin regularly from a boss desperate to feel in control.
