I’m a devotee of Will Smith and I, Robot. I’m impatiently waiting for Smith’s installment, I, Robot 2. It won’t be released until 2026. In the meantime, I watched a rerun of The Equalizer 2, starring Denzel Washington. The film is an artistic metaphor for living life. It raises a number of ethical questions and provides an answer.

The storyline of the movie is about Robert McCall. Washington’s character is a retired DIA officer and Marine. McCall’s enjoyed a quiet retirement for only a short time. He comes out of retirement and attempts to equalize things for several people and families.

This is an example of McCall’s engagement with the unethical behavior of a person and giving that person time to consider rectifying the situation.

The next scene in the film jumps from a train heading to Istanbul to a Boston law firm.

McCall’s retirement morphed into helping address global inequality. So, it is a nice story about a retired guy reaching out to others. If that is one’s only takeaway from the film, methinks they missed the main message.

The storyline of The Equalizer 2 has two foci: recognizing the pain others feel and taking action to remedy the situation. Think of anyone. Ask the question whether that person addresses both of the foci. If that person is merely trying to achieve more than the next person, it doesn’t meet the criteria. There are plenty of people who are out there clawing away in an attempt to get to the top and beat all other competitors. Once they reach that goal, they try to get richer or more controlling. It becomes like a drug or alcohol addiction; the more you get, the more you want.

Years ago, I came up with a saying: It is in giving that we get. After writing about my newfound saying, I thought either I was extremely wise or my saying was similar to someone else’s thought. So, I googled it. St. Francis of Assisi said, “For it is in giving that we receive.” While my version is less poetic, it speaks to the same truth.

McCall offers each of us a choice on our journey down our yellow brick roads of life. We need to spend our lives helping others. It is so basic and simple a concept. Help others by being an equalizer.

Bobby Kennedy is the most important mentor in my life. Think about that equalizer’s mindset. “Every generation inherits a world it never made; and, as it does so, it automatically becomes the trustee of that world for those who come after. In due course, each generation makes its own accounting to its children.” Ask yourself whether you are helping others. We aren’t immortal; our time here is extremely brief. How will people view you when you are gone?