Is There A Real Dark Side?

Frankly, I don't think so. Webster defines evil as being "morally reprehensible." But whose morals are we reprehending? Those of the person who committed the so-called evil act, or those of the person against whom the evil act was committed? In this sense of clear-cut good and evil I think maybe clear-cut antagonist and protagonist exist, but I think it's all a matter of point of view.

Take Harry Potter as an example. From one point of view, Voldemort is clearly the evil one. From another, Harry is. After all, he did go out of his way to make Voldemort's life difficult since birth. Voldemort just wanted the world one way, which he saw as good, and Harry wanted the world another way, which Voldemort found completely abhorrent and "morally reprehensible". Harry thwarted Voldemort's plans, got his loyal followers thrown in jail- and loyalty could be considered a very "good" quality- and eventually killed Voldemort, squashing the hopes and dreams of all his deatheaters. If I were Voldemort I would think Harry was evil.

And then you get into the area of does one need the other? It's possible they do. Friction needs to exist for things to stay in place, a balance needs to have an equal amount on both sides to stay balanced, and an equation must be balanced for a statement to be true. But Friction, a balance, and an equation aren't exactly representative of the universe. If I were an overlord, the world would be quite a happy place without any agitators trying to throw off the balance. Life goes on.

Look at 1984. Winston is just an annoying zit on Big Brother's face. He tried to stir the pot. No one listened. He was corrected. Life went on and no one was the wiser. What did Big Brother need Winston for? To restore some kind of order? Not exactly. How was Winston crucial to life going on at all? What kind of balance was thrown off that Winston was there to correct? I can't see one. And in that way, I'm not so sure that good and evil need each other. If things are to change, maybe they do. An object that doesn't have friction acted upon it will continue in the exact same way forever. Friction can change it. Good or evil could continue in the exact same way forever unless one acts upon the other to change it. In the interest of change they need each other. In the interest of staying the same, maybe they don't.