Talk:Amon/@comment-4963341-20120406202514/@comment-4963341-20120406212032

^ The issue with Aang left me somewhat conflicted at the end of the last series (and a lot of people). On the one hand, it was nice that Aang was able to stick to his convictions and not kill Ozai despite everyone basically saying that he would have to; on the other hand, it really did sort of feel like a cop-out for him. He was told multiple times that him sticking to his pacifism was basically, in this case, unethical, and for the most part I would agree. Aang didn't know he would miraculously discover a means of having his cake and eating it too, yet he was seriously considering letting the world burn, literally, for the sake of perserving his own ideals, something that is ultimately unethical.

I certainly don't consider Aang a bad person or unethical, because he wasn't, and in almost any other situation I would admire him for sticking to his convictions. But until the whole energy bending thing was dropped into his lap, he was left with a choice; his beliefs vs. the world. We could argue which he would have chosen if he hadn't been convieniently presented with a third option (his scene while redirecting Ozai's lightning does hint that ultimately he likely would have let the world burn rather than betray his convictions though, but this is arguable).

The issue with betraying his convictions was best summed up by the Air Nomad avatar he spoke to. She summed it up quite well I think; Aang was required by his very status to do what was best for the world as a whole, even if it meant betraying his own teachings. That is the nature of selflessness, being willing to do what is neccessary for the greater good, and I happen to agree, if neccessity required betraying his pacifism, he should be ready to do it. It would hurt, and I don't envy his position, but ultimately it would have been the correct thing to do.

The situation with Amon is a bit different in that Amon needs to be taken down in a way completely different than Ozai was. In Ozai's case, the Avatar needed to take him down because the avatar would be seen by the people as impartial and thus would be far more accepted as an end to the war. With Amon though, having the Avatar take him down would be the worst possible option since now the Avatar is the icon and symbol of bending itself, and having the Avatar strike Amon down would only spread Amon's ideology to others who would see the Avatar as oppressing non-benders. This makes the conflict between Korra and Amon so interesting, and I really look forward to how it will all turn out.