Pro-Protagonism

Despite the violence in much of the media I pursue, I'm not actually a big fan of antagonism. I understand that most stories need antagonists because the conflict between the protagonists and the antagonists helps drive the plot, but in the real world, focusing on one's enemies isn't always the best way to defeat them. And by "defeating" one's enemies, I don't mean eliminating them or destroying them. If that's what you want to do, by all means, focus on them, but I think there's a better way to win. We can "defeat" our antagonists by accomplishing our goals, despite their attempts to stop us. In other words, instead of being anti-antagonist, I would rather be pro-protagonist.

Let's take our battles with Satan for example. Satan is constantly trying to get us to commit sin. The sins he tempts us with differ from person to person, but they all have the goal of stopping us from reaching the Celestial Kingdom, which is our ultimate goal. Now, we could focus on fighting Satan and resisting temptation, but that won't be enough. Merely not sinning won't qualify us for the Celestial Kingdom. We have to become worthy. We have to keep the commandments. There are things that we need to do in order to receive Celestial glory. Merely repelling Satan (anti-antagonist) won't help us accomplish our goal (pro-protagonist).

Satan knows that. That's why he tries to make us feel weak and apathetic. Getting us to commit sin is part of his goal, but all he really wants from us is to not to good. Satan's best tactic against many of us is to get us to play endless, exhausting defense against his attacks, because, even if we win, we'll be too tired from the fighting to actually do good.

That's why, against Satan at least, the best defense is a good offense, and our target isn't actually Satan; it's the Celestial Kingdom. As long as Satan is trying to distract us, delay us, and, if possible, derail us, we should try to keep our eyes on the prize. We can't destroy Satan, so focusing our efforts on fighting him is fruitless. So, instead of fighting against our adversary, we should try to fight for our Redeemer. We should focus our efforts on trying to do good and be good. Doing good will not only help others; it will also help us have the Spirit with us, which will help us resist temptation.

Of course, it's foolish to ignore our enemy completely. We do need to be aware of what he's trying to do to us so we can effectively counter it. But when he's trying to distract us, the best response isn't to fight against him. The best response is to sidestep the distraction and keep our focus on our goal.