Hannibal Lecter- More Worthy of Admiration than You Thought?

“But,” you may say with caught breath and wide eyes, “Hannibal Lecter is a villain! He is a monster, a horror, and, worst of all, he is a cannibal! A cannibal, I say! He eats the flesh of people! He kills others for his own amusement and then feeds their flesh to unsuspecting friends!”

“Come on, now,” I’d be sure to reply. “While those things do seem rather dramatic and somewhat villainous at first glance, you have to look deeper into this wondrous individual. Dr. Lecter offers so much more than fine dining and force majeure. Dr. Lecter is urbane, well educated, calm and certainly mollifying. Surely you don’t want him angry or disappointed with you, but can we not say the same for most accomplished and demanding individuals? If you would just take a closer look, you’ll find more than enough to embrace and admire. I don’t find him amongst my most favorite heroes merely because of his culinary skills. No, my friend; there is so much more to admire.”

Verily, the life lessons one can learn from Dr. Lecter are voluminous, valuable, and impressive, and it should be noted this information is not merely cherished in terms of ensured survival but living accomplished with aplomb and style. The dear doctor would not only place advice facilitating success but triumph with shitake mushrooms, roasted asparagus with au jus joined by a fine Chardonnay. Oh, and keep in mind the Cantata #76 by Johann Sebastian Bach in the background provides one with a charming ambiance whilst stepping beyond the flowing blood in order to protect one’s Salvatore Ferragamo shoes and Giorgio Cosani wool suit. Be mindful of the priorities.

As one travails through life beginning when young, challenges and hard lessons seemingly arise from around every corner and shadow. It’s particularly notable to remark how even the most favored young people have so much to learn when it comes to the world they live in, be that world of the sophisticate or it rather indigent, coarse and perhaps even replete of moral grounding. Those born in the poorer Appalachian regions might very well come from a loving and wise background, while the silver spoon be the only indicator of wealth to others born among heathens with access to money. Look, we all have our challenges in life, particularly when young, since we all must face our earliest years which happen to also be our most ignorant, and vulnerable.

The original story of young Hannibal (admittedly, back story due to pop success of the character recognized by Harris) and his sister is quite tragic, mentioned then because it was so much of the catalyst to create what Hannibal was to become. If you’re not familiar, Hannibal was originally from Lithuania and a young boy during WWII, orphaned suddenly by parents lost to the ravages of war. Vulgar, filthy heathens came to the home where the defenseless children were at their most vulnerable. These men were mean, cruel and morally bankrupt, and made matters so much worse for children already surrounded by tragedy. 

They were not just vicious, but took it upon themselves to kill Hannibal’s little sister and actually eat her. For the purpose of this writing, I am pointing these things out because it’s important to recognize who we knew Hannibal Lecter to be later in life compared to when he was a child in order to see the pathway. Then, he was small, vulnerable, weaker than his nemeses and ignorant of any beneficial solutions. He was eventually taken in by someone who strived to provide more but still struggled against the lowbrowed of the world that often still possessed too much influential power. Imagine a little boy surrounded by three large bullies on a playground. If that little boy is going to make it through, he’s going to have to see a way beyond their power and numbers, and knowledge may very well be the key.

In the story, Hannibal grew to manhood receiving a rather cornucopian education while learning to enjoy the finer things culture and sophistication provide. For this particular fan of the story, it was easy to ascertain Hannibal recognized power in knowledge, and we must appreciate he pursued medicine as both a surgeon and then psychologist. The point is we have a young man who found himself to be a work in progress, finding a way to power and security through intimate knowledge of the creatures surrounding him, both body and mind. Hannibal found that knowing people so well and then doing so in the security of wealth and influence saw him rise far above the frightened, dirty little boy who cringed at the feet of creatures influencing so much of his childhood and forcing him to endure injustice of incredible magnitude.

It was important to the story by Thomas Harris because Harris began with Hannibal the Cannibal (in both Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs) and saw that character rise to popularity, so he pursued the backstory in grand fashion, only serving to lend to the popularity of the character, and because of the popularity he evolved Hannibal into a sort of antihero rather than mere super villain. Like him or not, Hannibal Lecter has become one of the prominent literary characters of today, clearly demonstrated with several successful books, movies and even a three-season television show (which offered an updated and slightly different Hannibal than the other stories, arguably to the betterment of the character’s legacy), all of which place him within the ranks of Jack Ryan, James T. Kirk, and the Joker from Batman. Sure, Hannibal is mainly seen as a villain but he’s so much more complex than a mere bad guy. This complexity is why he’s endured. Because yes, he will kill a person and eat a part of them, but he doesn’t bend over them and dig his face into their body while they shriek; he will be in a fine suit and a high-priced apron in a splendid kitchen preparing the ingredient while fine music fills the air. He’ll then sit quietly and enjoy the meal with fine china and silverware, living a life of sophistication while knowing he vanquished some asinine plebian. Hey, he’s making the world a better place.

You must recognize, friends; Dr. Lecter makes the world a better place.

The part of this I take away is Hannibal grew to rise above being the frightened and dirty little boy petrified of vulgar freaks, becoming something those vulgar freaks should fear…if they had any idea he was there at all. Further, he’s truly better than them. But this isn’t to say I have learned we must vivisect our enemies and eat whatever aspect pissed us off the most. Rather, I choose to see Hannibal’s strength from an even more valuable aspect.

When I was younger, I was like so many young men, most, in fact, being angry at the world and often lashing out against it. It wouldn’t be difficult to see a particularly angry young man standing at the shoreline, kicking and fighting the incoming tide to no benefit at all other than getting cold and wet. It is little more than an amusing cliché. And so we’re getting to the heart of the matter of my affinity for this character. A heart patted down with olive oil and breadcrumbs while the oven’s preheated to 325 degrees.

Rather than be a continually weak and emotionally overrun fool standing at the waterline and facing an oncoming hurricane with clenched fists (illustrating the notion of doing something perfectly impotent and utterly pointless despite enjoying a moment of false empowerment), one should have prepared for the oncoming storm and be either well away from the area or somewhere constructed well enough to withstand the coming onslaught. 

Hannibal isn’t seen losing his temper but often verbalizes a wondrous potential solution. He has access to a resplendent amount of information (which today is not much of a challenge if one recognizes the benefits of technology) and enough of an understanding on how to use this information to a greatest benefit.

It isn’t Hannibal Lecter v. The World, with it being a dog-eat-dog world and Hannibal trembling in a corner. Instead, this character always has the answers (although most of what we know from him is while he is behind bars and even confined behind a straitjacket and bite mask) and often knows the best way to manipulate the problem towards not just a satisfactory but a superb solution. But we must be smart enough to recognize this character flourishes not just with an exemplary education and understanding of a bounty of methodology, but is more than happy to break the law, commit incredible evil and actually remove one’s liver and eat it. Within the fiction, he operates above the common law and implements what he perceives as God’s Law. Keep in mind with honesty, God allows for miracles but will idly watch immense suffering for reasons we cannot contemplate.

One aspiring to the better of the character doesn’t have to do this. We do not have to act in the sociopathic manner he does (if he is truly sociopathic). But sometimes it does help to recognize life can be unfair. It can be beneficial to see life can be dirty and one might have to play dirty to win it. What would have Saul Alinsky thought of Dr. Lecter? What part of Alinsky would Hannibal enjoy the most? Alinsky recognized the value of chaos but offered no effective solutions, or order, to the chaos. I imagine Dr. Lecter would prepare Saul’s tongue and legs.

All Trekkies and fans of Captain Kirk know he’s more than willing to manipulate a situation, even downright break the rules and outright cheat, in order to succeed when success would otherwise be impossible. But Captain Kirk wouldn’t just overtly kill someone for that (although some personnel in red shirts might argue to the contrary) while Hannibal would be more than happy to pursue an individual who he finds uncouth and serve their body in various dishes to a party, all the while smiling as he watches unsuspecting people consume this person into oblivion. Dr. Lecter would smile to the compliments Hillary Clinton gushed to the savory meat of Alinsky’s thighs. There are tightropes and there are lines in the sand, my friends. Pick and choose.

At this point I would like to bring in something unrelated that also means a lot to me and is separate to these fictional characters- The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Those who know of this incredibly beneficial treatise recognize how preparation and careful planning supersede careless shots in the dark. They also recognize how war may very well demand manipulation of information to vanquish an opponent. But it also recognizes one must tread the moral high ground. It cautions that while one may manipulate things and dupe the enemy, one should not be the bad guy.

So, we go but so far when conjuring up in the mind, hmm, what would Dr. Lecter do?

In The Art of War, it is cautioned to the student that it is not always necessary to level the enemy and burn them to the ground, but perhaps manipulate them in such a way that they are no longer the enemy, or no longer desire to be a threat. Do not go in with crushing them as your first goal, but offer a less costly, viable solution. But, be able to crush them if you have to! You have to have the most brought to the table.

In the television show, Dr. Lecter demonstrates an aura of sophistication as well as a veritable library of pertinent information helping find grand solutions. Those who know the outward Hannibal find him admirable and inspiring. Even charming. They may not know he’s consumed more people than he can recollect (but hey, once one is out of their teens, how many people count their sexual encounters?) but they do know he’s remarkable in an array of categories.

We aspire to the man who is well spoken and successful, dresses well and is capable of taking care of himself, and command, in a wide range of challenges, even if they become violent. But nobody who is anybody aspires to the asshole at the bar who is openly rude to the girl with the guy who happens to appear mild-mannered and half his size. However, if we see that man is Hannibal Lecter (let’s place aside the obvious notion he would not be at some common bar) we would not fear for his safety, but for the safety of the aggressor. Moreover, we just might enjoy seeing this knuckle-dragging fool put in his place.

Earlier I mentioned a challenge with anger as a younger man. It’s so common it’s hardly worth mentioning, really, but it is worth pointing out that I recommend seeing anger as a weakness. We do not get angry, but give in to anger. We succumb to it. While I can still lose my temper (just ask the stubborn lawn mower), I have been conscious of this nugget of wisdom for some time.

Part of the anger originated with the helplessness of a childhood replete with dysfunction in a loveless upbringing. I didn’t know my real father growing up as my parents split when I was young, and my mother married a man who failed to see his step-kids as his kids let alone as anything at all. I do understand this can be difficult for some people; one cannot further one’s genetic lineage by pouring one’s resources and time into those not truly related. Those people likely went extinct. I get it. But there was a lot of abuse in the home and eventually the abuse and resentment, along with alcohol and other miserable factors, fractured the home so much that I sought ways away from it (I ran away a lot as a kid) at a young age and virtually counted the days until I was old enough to escape. I really saw my eighteenth birthday (or to be more specific, my graduation day) as a parole date. Now, I had to wait until I graduated from high school (I knew it wasn’t an option) and then await my entry date into the military, a mere few weeks later. The Army was my exit strategy.

All that time of dealing with the challenges and dysfunction during those younger years have proven to be a significant time of my life. I had to endure and learn to cope in an environment where I had no say or personal empowerment. There’s no benefit in me peeling back the scabs of the time, but suffice it to say I had to learn how to survive in an environment where I should have been most secure and comfortable but it was anything but that. And then when I entered the military, it wasn’t much different at first. Being a mere Private at first doesn’t open one to a myriad of choices, but one can learn quickly that time passes for all of us at a rate of sixty minutes per hour, so learn a lot and say little. Do as you’re told and do your best in what you’re tasked to accomplish. One’s rank will improve with time, particularly with gained knowledge and experience.

I should note I just so happened to be a soldier during the Cold War era. Battles were not often fought on the open battlefield with bullets and blood, but more often covertly, with subterfuge and espionage, cloak and dagger, smoke and mirrors, wires and pulleys hidden in the shadows where one is discouraged to peer. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. As a young soldier I learned how to manipulate certain things to my benefit. For example, when I was near the end of the days of Basic Training, there were periods of down time where the recruits could sit on these bleachers and have a smoke or chat or whatever. But it was quite common for any one of the Drill Sergeants to approach with a request.

“I need four volunteers, right now!”

Now, there wasn’t anyone who knew what they were volunteering for, but it would be a good guess it would suck. So at first, nobody raised their hand or stepped forward. As you could imagine, the said Drill Sergeant would scream at everyone, “Every one of you soldiers should be volunteering, ready to go at a moment’s notice!” (This has been edited for content). He’d then choose the required number of volunteers from the masses.

Well, eventually a few would volunteer when approached. But every single time, the Drill Sergeant would dismiss them and grab up from those who didn’t volunteer. Every. Single. Time. I learned that quickly and was right there before the Drill Sergeant eager and ready to go. Or so I made it seem. I was never volunteered for a damned thing, but always sat back down and watched those who just didn’t catch on get hauled off to KP.

Now, this I did not learn from Dr. Lecter, but the frame of mind runs parallel with much of what we can learn from the good doctor. Hannibal would have never done KP despite his allure to the kitchen.

Now I would like to share a memory from my childhood that occurred likely before anyone had ever heard of Hannibal Lecter and perhaps before Mr. Harris thought of him. I bring it up because this was a formative and influential moment that surely would find Dr. Lecter taking me under his wing.

When I was about nine or ten years old, I had a friend my age whose mother often hung with a rough crowd. Looking back, I’m quite confident she was a prostitute, but that doesn’t apply. What does apply is there were often biker types who spent a lot of time with and around her, and I recall going to visit this friend and seeing one of these bikers polishing up the chrome of his motorcycle.

I wasn’t within fifty feet of him or his bike, but I said something to the effect of I thought his motorcycle was really cool. He quickly squared off at me (being at least five times my size and said, “If you come anywhere near that bike, they’ll find your body lying out there in the street like just another dead dog.”

I had no intention of getting near his bike before he said anything, but by this time I wanted nothing to do with him, either. But I felt threatened and quite uncomfortable around him, and the more I thought about it the angrier it made me. I was angry because he threatened a kid who meant no harm and wasn’t in a position to be a problem. But I kept it in mind.

Fast forward to a short time later, perhaps a few weeks at the most. I often witnessed this bully blazing up and down our road with his loud bike and mean-spirited demeanor. So, when I was tasked by my parents to rake up the falling leaves in the yard (the street was lined with numerous maple trees and those leaves are a nuisance during the fall) I decided to cope with dead-dog dude by raking all the leaves in the area into the street and spreading them evenly. Now, I had no way of truly knowing this would get the guy, but I recall thinking I hope he slips on the leaves and bangs up his motorcycle. I also recall thinking I hope that if that happens, he doesn’t know I did what I did. To offer full disclosure, the only reason I knew the leaves could be slippery was because I skinned up my knees quite nicely after losing control of my bicycle on wet leaves.

Wow, to this day I never will get over how that motorcycle burned. The flames had to be twenty to thirty feet high. I heard the crash (I was sitting in the living room watching TV when I heard it, and our front door had a window looking into the street) and looked to see what it was. And there, just a few feet from the burning motorcycle, was that bully, lying there like just another dead dog.

My parents came to see what I was looking at (they didn’t see me smiling and about to wave) and once they did, they promptly called emergency services. He was complaining about the wet leaves as they wheeled him into the ambulance. I never saw or heard about this guy ever again.

It long stuck with me, silently wishing I knew that’s how that would turn out as opposed to just being a bizarre fluke. So, imagine my rapt attention many years later when I saw Dr. Lecter fully capable of creating situations like that. But by the time I met the good doctor (via the silver screen) I was also making myself familiar with The Art of War. While I will intentionally edit out the details and sequences of events of certain episodes where I had to face certain so-called nemeses and created situations that significantly lessened their impact on my life and situation, I will state I was able to do so without causing a scratch. Usually. 

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Get your enemy good, but the best way to get them is in a way they never know they were got. Violent harm is far from being a necessary solution, particularly at step one. Through a combined effort of channeling Dr. Lecter’s mode of thinking combined with some bullet points pulled from Sun Tzu’s ancient text, I have been able to enjoy a few quiet yet tasteful victories here and there. Revenge is a dish best served cold, would be what Dr. Lecter would write on the board within the first minute of his unique Lesson 101. Then he would add, but revenge isn’t a necessary ingredient on its own merits.

It is quite clear that emotional control is one’s primary key. Seeking as much knowledge on as many subjects as possible is also a key to success, since knowledge truly is power. But it has to be noted the Appalachian notion one must bust skulls in front of a hundred witnesses while in the lot of Walmart is not, I repeat, not, ideal. Because it cannot be found acceptable, one would assume, to commit an act like that and assume the following repercussions are going to be okay. In case anyone missed this, the idea is to do what you’re going to do and not face potential subsequent consequences. Your actions are supposed to be the solution, not complications distancing you from solutions. If this must be explained, perhaps you need not read on any further.

My greatest regrets stem from moments I drifted from appropriate courses of action Dr. Lecter would have recommended and perhaps applauded, where I chose to pursue more mainstream solutions rather than solutions better fitting. The consequences of these decisions are twofold:

The resulting situations often brought more chaos and heightened obstacles and, then, my experience and skillset deteriorated rather than refined. This is the basic definition of a bad habit. Not only did I discover my situation was worse, I realized I then had even more work to do just to get to where I was to begin with. Not only were the compromises compounding but the spotlight on the situation was that much brighter. Dr. Lecter did not allow the census taker to move on and report his findings; he simply recognized quickly the fool’s liver was best paired with seasoned fava beans. The Chianti was a gentle reward for knowing better.

Now, we know of Dr. Lecter at all because of his failing. If it wasn’t for his mistakes, we would never have known of his eccentricities. But for our purposes here this is just fine, mainly because he is a fictional character primarily designed for engaging drama. Is it unfair to say we cannot scold a child for finding a hero in Batman because this child wasn’t orphaned by wealthy parents who died before him at the hands of a lunatic?

“You don’t have his resources or his passion, so go enjoy heroes in politics like a good boy.”

We see heroes and villains accomplish tremendous things in fiction because the writer or team of writers had plenty of time to formulate engaging and fantastic solutions. Such benefits aren’t often afforded to most of us. But in time and over time we can learn from past lessons and recognize the better course of action is not direct confrontation dovetailed with seething only to have to explain your foolishness to a judge and probation officer. We can do this even when past mistakes cost us time, money and other resources. Often, when we think it’s too late it isn’t truly too late. Learn from your mistakes and calculate the steps required to counter-strike. And, for the love of all that is Holy, do not counter-strike in such a way that prompts a counter-strike. The term proportionate response is for those who do not expect to bear the ensuing consequences. Getting in as many effective punches as possible is for boxing, not fighting. If this must be explained, perhaps you need not read on any further.

Recognize Dr. Lecter is not just about conquest and vanquishing. He didn’t wrest his love for the finer things from a chump; he knows with confidence many things are worth what you pay for them. He did not steal his education but pursued it with honest passion. Sure, he may have dined on the flanks of a particularly liberal professor and confiscated his gold, but he didn’t have cheat sheets lining his sleeves. Further, Hannibal Lecter is not void of moral grounding. He would not, would never, sell heroin to kids or kidnap a lovely girl to sell her into sex slavery. Would he neutralize those who would? I have every confidence one who would commit such deviance would regret it before becoming no more.

We should recognize Dr. Lecter reached a point where he had a, shall we say, God Complex. And this isn’t saying he thought he was God, of course, but he felt justified in playing by God’s Rules as he saw them. He believed God allowed the tragedies and insanities of life to factor with such intensity, much of what led to the killing and consuming of an innocent little girl at the hands of monsters running free. God creates beauty and splendor but allows ugliness to threaten it at will. God has allowed a hurricane to destroy a church full of frightened believers. At the moment you’re reading this as well as the moment I am writing it, ISIS is selling innocent girls into sex slavery at such a success that they’re doing it on the internet. What’s being done about it? If you could ask ISIS, they’d likely brush it off as amusing and continue making vast quantities of money at the expense of innocence while the rest of the world sits on their hands worrying about offending those holding down a nine-year-old girl and brutally raping her while she screams.

Would Dr. Lecter sit on his hands and wait for the moment to ask her how she feels? Not likely. Would he have the courage to ask why God does what everyone else does? That might be more likely, but he very well might take effective action despite the misgivings of the average bear. Not only might he do more, but he has taken the time to know how to do more.

 Therein lies his God Complex. It seems as though Hannibal recognizes God works in mysterious ways so his ways are mysterious or at least kept to himself.

Admittedly, this is an aspect of the character most difficult to emulate or even entertain. Hannibal’s level emotional state is admirable as is his level of knowledge in a myriad of subjects, and his personal conviction to see through a task or goal is tremendous. But who among us can run on with the notion we can pursue life according to what we’ve perceived as God’s personal rules? Sure, your church pundits, Pat Robertsons, Jim Bakkers and so forth might have something to offer for you when it comes to God’s Law, but these are according to the Law passed down by God as understood within certain faiths. Hannibal is more likely to emulate God himself based on what he’s witnessed, and that, dear reader, is courageous at best, but frightening. Further, each of us may have a different perception of what God is doing.

Many see the miracles and splendors of the world as the work of God while others see natural tragedies such as floods (understandable given the written history) or volcanoes as the Holy efforts by God’s judgment. And then, many see ALL as the work of God, with going so far as to say all is the manifestation of God in perceptible form. While these are a matter of faith, it does appear Hannibal’s faith in God is pursued through what he’s seen God do. Such as weed out the weaklings and push for the survival of the fittest, and, well, kill countless innocents to accomplish a goal. Because yes, Dr. Lecter eats the rude and offensive, but he may very well kill a security guard or anyone else (well, there are exceptions for people who make the world a better place with their presence) in order to ensure his pursuits are not impeded.

That is generally considered psychopathic in nature and rather distasteful in the eyes of the public. Sure, Hannibal has washed his hands of the public opinion due to such opinion happily allowing for the sale of innocent girls into sex slavery amongst other heinous acts, could you? Could I do this in my life? Anyone who knows me knows I am quite outspoken when it comes to Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation, but those same people would shun me if I began displaying cooked remains of traffickers at the family barbeque. It wouldn’t be any better if I was merely killing them and keeping count via blood slides ala Dexter. Instead, most would suggest I leave it in official hands even though those hands have allowed trafficking of persons to vie for the number one slot in the world’s most prolific organized criminal activity.

One must suppose moderation is the key. Sure, you can be like Hannibal when you maintain a calm demeanor. You can emulate this hero when you articulate in verbose fashion your disapproval of certain issues and behaviors. You can personify him through being the best at your profession and therefore widely respected in your field. But you cannot hunt down the rude, crude, offensive and worthless so you can consume their flesh with culinary flash. Hey, that kills people. And no, we’re afraid, you cannot operate incognito with the mystery of God.

But then, if you did it well, nobody would ever know, would they?

But judging from the history of our selected character, not even those as good as Dr. Lecter continue forth without being discovered eventually. So, simply because you admire your favorite fictional character, could you see what it’s like to eat the rude? Could you gut your enemy and eat his liver? Could you run his severed leg through a bandsaw and chop it up into steaks? Could you place his mutilated body on display for all to see, just to prove a point?

Within the confines of the fiction this makes for excellent drama. But when we know better and conduct ourselves according to the laws of both society and reality, such acts would, we should say, be morbid and grisly at the least. So, let’s go back to the child loving Batman.

A young boy doesn’t have to be the orphaned child of billionaire dead parents and then become a true-life Caped Crusader complete with his own Bat Cave in order to enjoy Batman. He may merely emulate the convictions of the character or pursue goals through innovation and the courage of his convictions. There is a saying going around that we may love Batman as a child but we understand the Joker more as adults. Bruce Wayne may have recognized he has the ability to utilize his intelligence and resources to fight crime and evil, but the Joker long ago came to the realization that we might as well pursue humanity according to what it is rather than what we claim it ought to be.

Earlier, I stated a particular aspect of Dr. Lecter I admire is his ability to maintain his composure under pressure and think through his objective rather than burst forth with emotional angst. Dr. Lecter might plunge an axe through the skull of a deviant but it would be significantly out of character for him to take that axe to a lawn mower refusing to start. I can honestly say I have never killed anyone with an axe, but I have destroyed a lawn mower with one after struggling to get it to run. Dr. Lecter would have pursued a solution to start the machine or simply and calmly replaced it. He would not have chopped it apart, splashing gasoline all over himself only to discover the culprit to the problem was a disconnected spark plug wire, only to look to the house to see his spouse peering at him through the window, shaking her head in disbelief. Batman wouldn’t have done that, either.

In moments such as these, we see the value of heroes.

So, to those among us who require stable ground to grasp when we feel it shaking us to our core, Dr. Lecter’s stability in the face of strain is worthy of aspiration. For those among us who feel ourselves boiling over when a disagreement is turning up the heat, Hannibal’s loquacious clarifications lend themselves to leveling things to a gentle simmer. When we’re unsure or actually frightened, Dr. Lecter’s careful calculations serve as a guiding light to follow. Thus, we recognize as sane people we do not require a marinade for the shoulder meat of whomever pushes our buttons, but the perseverance to see reason succeed rather than emotional torment. All of this is worthy of aspiration, and Dr. Lecter is admirable for offering these examples to follow.

Take a look at the true, real examples you have to find aspiration within. Many, for some bizarre fucking reason, are political in nature. I’d like to step forward and state for the record it is perfectly deplorable, if I may borrow the term, to see anyone in politics as worthy of admiration. From there, we have those in entertainment, and there are plenty of them. 

Now, if you’re an aspiring guitarist, looking towards the numerous people who have excelled at the art is a worthwhile goal when it comes to their talent, but sadly that’s about it. Why, oh, why, would anyone look to anyone in acting for traits to mirror? At least rock stars don’t appear to be the monsters they used to be, even though they likely still are.

In sum, perhaps it’s better to look for those positive traits in people in order to find a guiding light. Gene Simmons might offer the entrepreneur a lot to aspire to in business, but in personal conduct? Well, perhaps not so much. And could anyone tell me why the Kardashian family is known and admired for anything whatsoever?

So, my friends, in a world full of Obamas, Kardashians, Biebers, Republicans, Democrats, Islamics, pundits, Clintons, Trumps, analysts, musicians and actors, reality TV stars, internet magnates, assaulters of Presidents who live with their mother according to judicial mandate, BLM supporters and organizers, race and conspiracy baiters, and safe space pursuers, just to name a scant few, I recommend you be a Hannibal Lecter.

When you’ve come to the realization that, in the year 2016 there is nobody left to admire, find something to admire in Hannibal Lecter. At the very least, you’ll never go hungry.