For more information on my self-imposed challenge - see this blog entry:
SW Blog Challenge

Winner #2 has been posted:
Winner #2

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Winner #1

Words: Moonlighting Mercenary
From: jedilily1026


Solo

Look, I ain't in this for your revolution, and I'm not in it for you, Princess. I expect to be well paid. I'm in it for the money!
- Han Solo, Ep. IV


I've been watching a few Clint Eastwood movies on the train to work each morning. For the most part, they've consisted of his westerns to include The Outlaw Josey Wales, High Plains Drifter, and For a Few Dollars More. I think I watch them more because they are favorites of my father than because they are just fun to watch...which they are. As a kid, I just didn't get it but as I watch them again, I think I do. In these films and others, we are watching a man take hold of his destiny despite the obstacles presented by life, be it in the form of nature or other people. We are watching a survivor in classic American style - with an iron will and ready hands.

In most of these movies we see Clint looking steely eyed and quick on the draw. His weathered face speaks of more than a harsh environment but also of the physical punishment he's seen and endured. The circumstances of each film are almost irrelevant - we know he was wronged in some manner and now he's own his own surviving like the rest of us, one job at a time, one situation at a time. Political and religious motivations are left to the poor, weak, and conniving; such ideals no longer matter where just surviving the next encounter, the next job, is all that counts.

What makes this cowboy cool though is the manner in which he conducts himself. Virtually everyone he comes across - at least the smart ones - steps aside to let this stranger through. With pistol in hand, he hires himself out to one person or another, to earn enough money to get through the next few weeks or, if he's lucky, the rest of his life. The job is irrelevant be it bounty hunting, chasing off baddies, or making a shipment - show me the money and you got yourself a man. The point is, he lives on his terms as best he can, and if that rubs some folks the wrong way - tough - in fact, all the better. He's forever the stranger in a strange land, and nothing makes life more complicated than when people begin to depend on you in some manner.

Needless to say, you can't think of The Man with No Name in this capacity and not think of Han Solo. He may not be as hardened as Clint, but Han walks with the same swagger - leave me be and I'll leave you be - just let me do my job. Sure, Han has a partner that walks alongside him making him appear less distant, but he is no less a mercenary than Mr. Eastwood. Han is working for a paycheck. Sure, he selects jobs suited to his experience and self-imposed morals, but he's not above running illegal shipments if the price is right.

Like Clint, Han is known more for his blaster than anything else. Despite the edits in the special edition, Han is a shoot first ask questions later kind of guy. You have to be in his line of work, being slow might get you killed, or worse, disrespected. A smuggler, or a hired gun, with a bad reputation is worse than being dead. How you ask? A man with a bad reputation can never be trusted, where a dead guy can at least be counted on to stay dead...with a few exceptions, of course.

In each of these individuals we see a mercenary spirit - individuals more worried about where their next buck is coming from than who is providing that buck and why. Life's too complicated to sort out who's dealing in truth and lies these days - the only important thing is that you have a service to offer that's worth something to someone. So long as that's the case, you're in business and everyone and everything else can go to hell.

Or is it?

You know as well as I that Mr. Eastwood and Mr. Solo find themselves in some stark black and white situations from time to time. They might be working one side against the other for their own personal gain but eventually even they must make a decision: will I ignore what's going on around me or will I make a stand? It is here that I think these moonlighting mercenaries show their true colors. No longer can they hide in the dark of damaged emotions and broken dreams. Yes, they've played the part of the rogue, the scoundrel, the pirate, and the hired gun, they may even have their own justice to mete out first, but eventually these decisions lead them to a crucial point in their lives. Is life merely about survival, or is it something more, can it be something more, and should it be something more? Can you say it's merely coincidence they've found themselves at these crossroads, or do they force the hand of fate by the choices they've made?

In the end these gun-and-gut types, specifically Han and Clint, seem to come out on the side of truth and justice. It might not be pretty and there might be a lot of bodies left in their wake, but they've made a choice, thus discarding the mercenary-style façade they've tried so hard to maintain.

It's hard not to think of most of us in this way as well (minus the blood, I hope). Some might have the job of their dreams, but most of us don't. We tell ourselves it's just for the money, just to pay the bills. If we had another job that offered a bit more in the way of money or independence, or if we hit the lottery, then it would be adios amigos - good townsfolk or not. I consider these thoughts all the time. Most of us really are just mercenaries when you come down to it. Sure, we love our nation but how many of us work at our underpaid jobs thinking that it's for the good of the country...I don't. I work because I have to in order to survive and make my life as pleasant as possible. So long as the current job pays enough, I'm fine. I'm not saying I'd do anything illegal - I haven't. Just that my loyalty is to my family and me first, then to other things. Honestly, why would anyone care if the nation, a galaxy, or a cause is right or doing well, if you're still struggling to make something out of your own life?

Despite these greedy feelings, there are times when I have the opportunity to do things for someone else's benefit. I'm under no obligation to do them - by god or man. I'm not being paid or honored for it, but I still do them. Why do it at all? For the same reason Han and Clint do, I'm just a moonlight mercenary - we all are. We act tough, talk tough, and look tough, but when the light is right and the sun is high, you can see right through our masks of frustration and cynicism. When push comes to shove, we want life to mean more than survival, than the accumulation of things, and the exultation of our egos. We want life to have meaning and hope for everyone. Whether because we hold faith in something greater or just tire of the work-a-day grind we all participate in, many strive to become more than their circumstance would normally allow. And for characters like Han and Clint, that's just the choice they seem destined to make.

Thanks, jedilily1026. I hope I did your words justice, if not, well....tough - you get what you pay for. Enjoy!


Note: Blog Challenge Winner #2 to be be posted Friday or Monday. Stay tuned!