Morally Neutral?
“ G ood protagonists come from morally neutral places and move toward relatable goals, not agendas. That is why the best stories appeal to large groups of people across many beliefs, faiths and moral codes.” I saw the statement above in the comments of a blog. It’s quite the statement. I’m having a hard enough time figuring out what it means and a harder time figuring out if I agree. I think I don’t. First, I’m not sure what is meant by “morally neutral”. I suppose that means the protagonist doesn’t know what he believes. Morals are essentially the collective beliefs of society concerning what is right and wrong. On any moral issue, there are extremes on either side and almost no one who is neutral, but the statement above implies that our protagonist should be one of those people. Next, the comment mentions “relatable goals, not agendas”. I don’t see any reason why a protagonist can’t have an agenda. For that matter, I don’t see why an author can’t have an agenda. Where it becomes...