The way how It's a Wonderful Life shows you yet another time when George Bailey is going to have to give up a long-held desire for the sake of others, and part of you is silently screaming at him to just do the selfish thing for once, to seize a bit of happiness for himself and let the problems sort themselves out, but you know and he knows that he has to do the right thing and think of others before himself. And he does, no matter how much it hurts, and it does help, and things do get better, but there's always another disaster waiting around the corner and another joy he has to give up for the sake of the greater good, yet he holds onto the belief the sacrifice always is worthwhile, until the day that one senseless cruel act by a wicked and selfish man threatens to destroy everything. And there's no way out, and every sacrifice has been worthless and all his suffering has been for nothing, and worst of all he's going to drag the ones he loves down with him, and there's nothing left to do but end it all because he's wrecked the lives of everyone he's ever met. But then a strange man takes him to a world that never knew him, and instead of happiness he finds poverty and fear, and his brother's dead and the people he saved are dead, and his wife's not married to a millionaire like he assumed she'd be, because she had never really loved anyone but him. And the hopelessness of this world shows him that he did matter, that his life was worthwhile, not just in spite of the suffering but because of it, that his sacrifices did make a difference and non-existence is never better than messy, complicated life. And he returns home to find family and friends frantic over him, having never guessed that even while he was standing on the bridge in utter despair his wife was scouring the city for friends who were already working to solve the problem, and it was never as hopeless as he thought it was because there was life, and while there's life there's hope, and no matter what troubles come his way he can face them knowing that the effort to do good is always worthwhile even if we can't see it. And he's surrounded by love while Potter stands alone, because Potter's easy, selfish choices brought him worldly success, while George's lifetime of painful sacrifice and heart-shattering disappointment has left him surrounded by supernatural love, and anyway if you try to write off this heart-shatteringly hopeful movie as sappy Christmas shmaltz I will absolutely fight you in the parking lot.
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