Attack On Watchmen

After reading through my last post again, I want to take this opportunity to correct any miscommunication that may arise from it. While I did say I did not need teachers I did not mean that I do not appreciate them. There were some that actually were passionate about their jobs and did understand me. They were few and far between but they were instrumental in imbuing me with a respect for others. They were able to penetrate my thick barrier of stubbornness and show me the fault in viewing all others as beneath me. These genuine people humbled me despite my protests. I learned humility for the first time and never forgot it. They pushed me harder than anyone ever has. By working with them, I accomplished things that even surprised myself. In their classes I was a perfect student. I would not act up or ignore. I have a deep respect for the ones who saw this as more than a job to pay the bills. They believed in their work. Teaching young minds is one of the noblest of tasks and a select few lived up to it. I only wish they all did. Maybe I wouldn't have ended up being misanthropic fuck I am today. Oh well, what's done is done. Moving on.



There is a concept that has been on my mind lately. It's been popularized in film and literature. It's the prospect of world peace through a common enemy. Even some of our greatest minds have come to this conclusion, but I still have my doubts. Two of my favorite examples of this are alien invasion flicks and Alan Moore's epic graphic novel The Watchmen.

In alien flicks, when the aliens invade, all of humanity bands together to combat this new foe. Borders are forgotten in an effort to unite against an enemy that threatens all of mankind. You might not have thought about it much, but in an attempt to destroy all humans, the evil alien conquerors have in actuality created peace on Earth. The end of the movies usually have all the peoples of Earth rejoicing. Well la di fucking da. Isn't that just adorable?

And in The Watchmen there is a similar theme. (spoiler alert) The plot mainly revolves around retired heroes coming back into action to battle an unknown foe that may or may not be killing off their former brothers in arms. Toward the end, you discover it is actually a fellow superhero who is to blame. A fellow hero who is also a super-genius. He figured out a way to usher peace on Earth and committed unspeakable atrocities to accomplish his goal. The end of the story has the heroes wondering whether or not to blow the lid on what really went down or not. The horrors have already been committed and all that was left was the ultimate aim. What is more important: the truth or peace? But I digress. By giving humanity a common non-human enemy, the masked super-genius ushers in a time of peace and saves the world from nuclear annihilation.

But I always wondered if this is what would really happen. Are human beings really that reasonable? I was unsure. It wasn't until I began watching the anime Attack On Titan that those doubts were brought back up to the surface. In the show, humanity most definitely has a common enemy: gigantic humanoid beasts that live only to devour live people, not for sustenance, but for fun. More than that, mankind is living in one single massive city protected by three 200 foot walls. If all of these previous examples are right, then how can the world within the walls not be a blissful utopia of peace? Instead, the world within the walls is exactly like the world we live in now. It's chock full of corruption, lies, and inequality. People don't change. For the most part they are spineless scum and nothing seems like it can ever change that. Sad? Yes. True? Maybe.

I'll leave you to decide for yourself. If ever a foreign entity ever declared war upon humanity would peace among men become reality, or would we just have another enemy to add to the list?