Editorial May 27, 1985 Issue

Dragon slaying

ALLISON W. PHINNEY, JR.

Children's books of the past were full of princes who grew up to journey into a far land and slay fire-breathing dragons. And popular films today tell variations on a similar story. Young warriors whooshing through the farthest reaches of space choose to do battle to save a good galaxy from enslavement by dominating evil forces.

It's a far cry from conventional life—growing up, getting married, having a family, and making a decent living! Or is it?

As Alice, in Lewis Carroll's beloved classic, proceeded on her adventures she exclaimed, "Curiouser and curiouser!"^{Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, chap. 2 .} The curious thing is, as we proceed on our own spiritual adventure, we begin to realize that the story of heroic effort—discovering the wonder of good and the ultimate powerlessness and nothingness of evil—is our own story. It is, in a sense, a much more accurate depiction of our lives than the conventional, so-called adult view.