Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics

As he walked back to his seat, Gordon stared intently at Shiller, seemingly trying to find some clues on his face but to no avail. All he could do was continuously rub the coffee cup with his fingers, looking extremely anxious.

　　He heaved a deep sigh.

　　"Don't be so disheartened, Chief, you've done well enough, but you clearly underestimated some people's greed."

　　Gordon furrowed his brows at him. He certainly caught the implications in Shiller's words, which made him carefully ponder the tone of the councilman who had just called, suddenly feeling a chill.

　　"Are you saying that the State Council knows about the GTO's income?"

　　"It's a large sum of money, Chief. They are not that foolish." After saying this, Shiller added in his mind, "They really are, so I had to act as a concerned citizen blowing the whistle."

　　The fingertips of Gordon's hand clutching the coffee cup began to whiten, and he couldn't help but show a pained expression on his face. He said to Shiller: "I am a policeman, if I had the knack for political maneuvering or finance, I wouldn't be here."

　　"It's okay, Chief, at least in your actual job, you are doing very well." Shiller still praised him very calmly.

　　But this did nothing to lift Gordon's spirits, because no matter how he heard it, it sounded like another way of saying "accept the inevitable."

　　"No, the GTO must not be disbanded." Gordon said, "They have brought the greatest improvement to Gotham's security ever, even greater than Batman, they must not be destroyed."

　　"Yes, I agree with you." Shiller nodded and said, "If there had never been hope, naturally no one would insist. But now that we have seen hope, no one would willingly give it up."

　　It sounded even more like "accept the inevitable," Gordon thought.

　　"You didn't come here just to say these meaningless words." Gordon decided to be straightforward, he continued, "If you have a solution, just say it."

　　"Forgive my bluntness, Mr. Chief. Your lack of aptitude for politics and insensitivity to finance are also reasons why Gotham's security has ended up like this."

　　Shiller stood up from his chair and began to pace around the office. He said: "No one is an island in this world, and no city is an island either. Gotham is a city of New Jersey, as well as a city of the Federation. Gothamites are people of New Jersey, as well as citizens of the Federation. It shouldn't be just your responsibility to take care of them."

　　"But they have always..."

　　"I know you've sought their support but failed due to various reasons. This has led them to do nothing but introduce various laws to restrict you constantly and not make any other contributions."

　　Gordon put both hands on the table, his expression seemed a bit defeated, but he still nodded and said, "Yes, they have always been holding us back. But is that our fault?"

　　"Although I am biased towards you, I can't, in good conscience, say you bear no responsibility. The social relations between individual humans need to be maintained, and naturally, so do those between cities."

　　"The primary intention of humans forming societies was mutual assistance, but nobody will simply help others unconditionally. Relationships are cultivated. Today you help me, and tomorrow I help you."

　　"How to start such a relationship of mutual assistance? First, you need to make others feel that one day you can be of help to them. That's when they will actively seek a good relationship with you."

　　"And to give others that impression, you naturally need to demonstrate your value. As long as you appear strong, others will naturally feel that someday you can be of help."

　　"Conversely, if you are always weak and unable to show your worth, it will make people feel that the time and energy spent on helping you is wasted. If you make them feel that maintaining a relationship with you is unnecessary, then you will hardly have any friends."

　　Gordon listened intently, although these weren't very complicated principles, no one had ever analyzed these matters with him so meticulously before.

　　"Gotham has a serious issue with isolationism." Shiller started with his conclusion and then elaborated, "You think that Gotham doesn't need anyone's help and that no one will come to help Gotham."

　　"From the surface it seems so, because the problems of Gotham are not apparent on the surface. Outsiders might not be able to understand, and because the city is rotten to the core, nobody would be willing to offer a helping hand."

　　"But, no, that's not the case. People might be deterred by a bad impression from doing something, but that's assuming that the task brings no benefits."

　　"Conversely, if the benefits of a certain task are immensely unimaginable, then there is no bad impression that cannot be reversed, no prejudice that cannot be broken."

　　"This is the case in personal interactions, international interactions, and interactions between cities and states."

　　"No one will help Gotham, not because people have a bad impression of it, but because the task itself also brings no benefits. Because you, Batman, and others ruling this city are unwilling to engage in a swap of benefits but instead consistently isolate yourselves."

　　"Now, the disadvantages of this isolationism are apparent right before your eyes." Shiller walked back to the desk and sat down, looking at Gordon and saying, "If only Gotham had councilmen in the State Council who could speak on its behalf, you wouldn't be so passive."

　　Gordon painfully closed his eyes, because he knew Shiller was right.