Love your enemies is advice I’ve been receiving from my mother in different words for as long as I can remember. Whether my enemy was my sister who took the shirt I planned on wearing, a boyfriend who lied to me or a person I barely knew who was making fun of me behind my back, she always stressed being able to forgive and love anyway. Of course, this expression to “love your enemies” does not exactly mean that Batman should be taking the Joker out for a romantic evening, but rather that Batman should not spend his time and energy on hating the Joker.
Hating the Joker does not make Batman a better superhero, nor does it help him defeat the Joker. All of that time and energy that Batman spends on thinking about how much he dislikes the Joker and his actions only takes away from the time he could spending bettering himself and Gotham City. He is only hurting himself by putting himself in a bad mood with all of these negative thoughts. Batman, in this case, is just letting the Joker get inside his head and be annoying to Batman by angering him even when he is not around and is no longer an issue.
Batman is a superb person. He chose to spend his money on being able to help those in need in Gotham City. While this is a great example that he is setting, showing that he is spending his time hating the Joker instead of letting it go after it is dealt with is not a good example. This is something that is important, especially in the long run, because it is primarily an example to the Joker. In this situation, the Joker is the one who needs the good example to follow the most. Once he is able to see that no matter what happens between them Batman is always going to do the right thing and not let the Joker turn him into a negative person filled with hate, there is a better chance that the Joker may take a step back and look at who he is. This would be the biggest service Batman could ever do for himself, the Joker, and Gotham City.
Batman and the Joker are both clearly intelligent and clever people. They can both see the big picture while paying attention to the details. If Batman were able to put aside and get over his hate for the Joker and act even just civil towards him, then they would be able to do great things working together. If not that, then it would be good for both of them to not be focusing so much time on each other but rather whatever else they need to be doing.
Lastly, being able to forgive and move on rather than hating and holding a grudge is a test to your character whether you're a superhero or just an average joe. This is not an easy task, and no one would be able to argue that it is. When such strong feelings are involved, positive or negative, changing them is never a simple thing. Being able to step back and see the bigger picture and do what is best for yourself and others, even though it is the harder thing to do, shows how big a person you are. It shows that you are able to understand that you may not know what is going on with that person and that letting all of this negative energy build up inside you will not help them or you.
“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
