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Armored -- by Dr. Lisa Love
suddenly pass away and he is left to care for himself and his younger brother. Working
for an Armored security truck, he still does not make enough to handle the debt left by
his parents, and is now in danger of losing his home. Deeply concerned he will not be
able to care for himself and his brother, he wonders what to do?
Mostly, he has to find a way to survive. But, that is complicated when his values are
tested in extreme ways that would break the average person. You see Ty's friends (and
even his godfather) who also work as guards for the armoured truck company, are given
an opportunity to transport $42 million dollars. Confronted with this they are all severely
tempted, especially when they devise a plot that will allow them to get away with the
entire amount, and have no one suspect they were the culprits.
Though the guards in Armored seem to be going through extreme circumstances that
test to the limits their ability to make moral choices, they are really not alone. We live in
a world where more and more people are tempted to put material prosperity ahead of
any kind of ethical or spiritual values. How does anyone make ethical choices in a world
where it frequently seems easy to be immoral and unethical? That is what spiritual
leader, the Dalai Lama, asks in his thoughtful book Ethics for the New Millennium.
He says, "We find modern living organized so that it demands the least possible direct
dependence on others. The more or less universal ambition seems to be for everyone
to own their own house, their own car, their own computer, and so on in order to be as
independent as possible. This is natural and understandable... In fact, it is possible
today to be far more independent of others than ever before. But with these
developments, there has arisen a sense that my future is not dependent on my
neighbor, but rather on my job or, at most, my employer. This in turn encourages us to
suppose that because others are not important for my happiness, their happiness is not
important to me."
What are the results of this trend? The Dalai Lama talks about the "high degree of
loneliness and alienation." He also mentions how it reinforces "people's tendency
toward competitiveness and envy." Worse, he mentions how it "encourages us to
suppose that the keys to happiness are material well-being on the one hand and power
conferred by knowledge on the other." And, finally, all of this leads to a growing inability
to be in touch with our natural dependence on each other, and dulls our capacity for
empathy, or basic human feeling towards one another.
As all of this the Dalai Lama says leads to an "escalation in murder, violence, and rape
cases year by year. In addition, we hear constantly of abusive and exploitative
relationships both in the home and within the wider community, or growing numbers of
young people addicted to drugs and alcohol, and of how the high proportion of
marriages ending in divorce is affecting children today."
Certainly, all of this is seen in the movie Armored. For many of the guards, their
motivation is a materialistic one. And, for a few, the lack of human feeling is
overwhelming evident. So, given the pressure to follow the pack how is it possible that
some of the guards (one in particular) starts to resist the process? Perhaps, it is
because despite everything they possess a deeper sense of ethics, and with that a
deeper sense of feeling connected to others. In fact, one guard in particular follows the
Dalai Lama's ethical criterion listed below almost to the letter. It could also be that
somewhere they have a better understanding of what really creates happiness in life.
As the Dalai Lama clearly articulates this only comes about in the deepest way when one
is "compassionate, loving, patient, tolerant, forgiving" leading that person to undergo a
"radical reorientation away from our habitual preoccupation with self." Then, they are
able to "act out of concern for others' well-being" more than their own.
That is what Armored conveys to us. It brings a sense of hope that even in extreme
circumstances people may be guided to make ethical choices. But, how is this
practically possible? What specific qualities must be acquired by us to help us live an
ethical life? The Dalai Lama lists a few key elements. They are as follows:
And, it is dependent upon the overall state of heart and mind any one person possesses
in the moment of action. Why? The Dalai Lama says, "Because, generally speaking,
this is the area over which we have the most control, it is the most significant element in
determining the ethical character of our acts." That is what we see played out before us
in the movie Armored. What is the overall state of the heart and mind of the characters
involved? And, the movie also proves these words from the Dalai Lama. "Whatever
immediate advantage is gained at the expense of someone else is necessarily only
temporary. In the long run, causing others hurt and disturbing their peace and
happiness causes us anxiety... Conversely, whatever hardship it entails, disciplining our
response to negative thoughts and emotions will cause us fewer problems in the long
run than indulging in acts of selfishness."
To put it another way, our moral choices ultimately determine our inner state. Will our
choices lead us to a sense of inner peace and wholeness? Or, will they create a
constant state of anxiety where we will only become "armored" as a result? Let's hope
that each of us along these lines makes the ethical and loving choice.
LoveMovies! Resource Matches.
NOTE: This article is Copyrighted as of 2009 by LoveMovies! All Rights Reserved
suddenly pass away and he is left to care for himself and his younger brother. Working
for an Armored security truck, he still does not make enough to handle the debt left by
his parents, and is now in danger of losing his home. Deeply concerned he will not be
able to care for himself and his brother, he wonders what to do?
Mostly, he has to find a way to survive. But, that is complicated when his values are
tested in extreme ways that would break the average person. You see Ty's friends (and
even his godfather) who also work as guards for the armoured truck company, are given
an opportunity to transport $42 million dollars. Confronted with this they are all severely
tempted, especially when they devise a plot that will allow them to get away with the
entire amount, and have no one suspect they were the culprits.
Though the guards in Armored seem to be going through extreme circumstances that
test to the limits their ability to make moral choices, they are really not alone. We live in
a world where more and more people are tempted to put material prosperity ahead of
any kind of ethical or spiritual values. How does anyone make ethical choices in a world
where it frequently seems easy to be immoral and unethical? That is what spiritual
leader, the Dalai Lama, asks in his thoughtful book Ethics for the New Millennium.
He says, "We find modern living organized so that it demands the least possible direct
dependence on others. The more or less universal ambition seems to be for everyone
to own their own house, their own car, their own computer, and so on in order to be as
independent as possible. This is natural and understandable... In fact, it is possible
today to be far more independent of others than ever before. But with these
developments, there has arisen a sense that my future is not dependent on my
neighbor, but rather on my job or, at most, my employer. This in turn encourages us to
suppose that because others are not important for my happiness, their happiness is not
important to me."
What are the results of this trend? The Dalai Lama talks about the "high degree of
loneliness and alienation." He also mentions how it reinforces "people's tendency
toward competitiveness and envy." Worse, he mentions how it "encourages us to
suppose that the keys to happiness are material well-being on the one hand and power
conferred by knowledge on the other." And, finally, all of this leads to a growing inability
to be in touch with our natural dependence on each other, and dulls our capacity for
empathy, or basic human feeling towards one another.
As all of this the Dalai Lama says leads to an "escalation in murder, violence, and rape
cases year by year. In addition, we hear constantly of abusive and exploitative
relationships both in the home and within the wider community, or growing numbers of
young people addicted to drugs and alcohol, and of how the high proportion of
marriages ending in divorce is affecting children today."
Certainly, all of this is seen in the movie Armored. For many of the guards, their
motivation is a materialistic one. And, for a few, the lack of human feeling is
overwhelming evident. So, given the pressure to follow the pack how is it possible that
some of the guards (one in particular) starts to resist the process? Perhaps, it is
because despite everything they possess a deeper sense of ethics, and with that a
deeper sense of feeling connected to others. In fact, one guard in particular follows the
Dalai Lama's ethical criterion listed below almost to the letter. It could also be that
somewhere they have a better understanding of what really creates happiness in life.
As the Dalai Lama clearly articulates this only comes about in the deepest way when one
is "compassionate, loving, patient, tolerant, forgiving" leading that person to undergo a
"radical reorientation away from our habitual preoccupation with self." Then, they are
able to "act out of concern for others' well-being" more than their own.
That is what Armored conveys to us. It brings a sense of hope that even in extreme
circumstances people may be guided to make ethical choices. But, how is this
practically possible? What specific qualities must be acquired by us to help us live an
ethical life? The Dalai Lama lists a few key elements. They are as follows:
- Principles Required to Live An Ethical Life
- Embodiment of the "Supreme Emotion" - Empathy.
- The Ethic of Restraint - Being disciplined and knowing how to restrain
oneself from short term gain for self, for the long term good of others. - The Ethic of Virtue - The courage to refrain from violence and practice an
ethic of non-violence. - The Ethic of Compassion - Being moved by the suffering of others and
wanting to act in such a way their suffering is alleviated. - The Need for Discernment - Possessing the insight to know how the ethic of
not harming others can be applied within the context of any situation.
And, it is dependent upon the overall state of heart and mind any one person possesses
in the moment of action. Why? The Dalai Lama says, "Because, generally speaking,
this is the area over which we have the most control, it is the most significant element in
determining the ethical character of our acts." That is what we see played out before us
in the movie Armored. What is the overall state of the heart and mind of the characters
involved? And, the movie also proves these words from the Dalai Lama. "Whatever
immediate advantage is gained at the expense of someone else is necessarily only
temporary. In the long run, causing others hurt and disturbing their peace and
happiness causes us anxiety... Conversely, whatever hardship it entails, disciplining our
response to negative thoughts and emotions will cause us fewer problems in the long
run than indulging in acts of selfishness."
To put it another way, our moral choices ultimately determine our inner state. Will our
choices lead us to a sense of inner peace and wholeness? Or, will they create a
constant state of anxiety where we will only become "armored" as a result? Let's hope
that each of us along these lines makes the ethical and loving choice.
LoveMovies! Resource Matches.
- Armored (Movie Trailer)
- Ethics for the New Millennium (Book)
- Ethics for the New Millennium (Free Online Study Guide)
- Ethics and the World Crisis (LinkTV Discussion with the Dalai Lama)
NOTE: This article is Copyrighted as of 2009 by LoveMovies! All Rights Reserved
Theme: Moral Choices. Life can be difficult for many people.
Though they spend their whole lives doing the right thing and
make choices they feel will reflect their values and help them be
the people they want to become, at times these values are
severely tested. That's what Ty discovers when his parents
Though they spend their whole lives doing the right thing and
make choices they feel will reflect their values and help them be
the people they want to become, at times these values are
severely tested. That's what Ty discovers when his parents
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