Comics, Why I Love & Hate Them

Over the last few months I have been following the Marvel Comics “Civil War” saga. Yes, it is true I have always loved comics… and after a few years of not collecting, this series really got me back into them. Comics have always been a form of social commentary, but over the years they lost a lot of that and became far out stories about unbelievable things. This series, on the other hand has gone back to the discussion of what is going on currently in our world. (See also: Red Menace series, Nightly News series, & even somewhat the DC comics series Kingdom Come & 52).

Another thing this series has done is awakened a love for a character I always thought was a boy scout at best, Captain America. I don’t think I can reveal anything specific about the series here, but I have greatly enjoyed his struggle with an America that no longer wants the ideals he (and others) fought so hard for.

This series reflects the current political climate in modern America very well. Particularly, in the area of civil liberties and personal freedom. Today, due to violence, terrorism, & many other things it seems the majority of people are more concerned with being protected than having rights. Part of me really understands that. Having a wife, family, friends, & dog that I love; I can see why people want to protect what they have… But, the other part of me wonders how far we are willing to go to have protection? Truthfully, my answer would be “Not very far at all.” I know a lot of people would say that I am not a patriot for that… but I disagree (see my entry: Patriot or Not?). You see, it is my firm belief that when we react to one idea in such a fashion (from one extreme) we usually end up going too far the other way (to the other extreme).

I am not saying that I can predict the future, but just that I have read a lot of history and here is what I have come up with. Rome, Greece, & the British Empire have all fallen (to some extent) in the past from being “glorious” kingdoms. Why should we as Americans think that we are any different? History does repeat itself, and just because the U.S. is the “ruling kingdom” now, does not mean it will be around forever. My point with this is that I could truly see our government making the same mistakes that so many have made in the past. Cracking down with an iron fist when the kingdom starts to crumble… it has happened in the past and will happen again.

So you may ask, “then what do you want, chaos?” No, anarchy is not a good idea… people running around doing whatever the hell they want is obviously not good. But, I also don’t want anything like what our government is moving toward. A literature reference like “Big Brother” or “The Party” might be overused, but what about something from history like the “National Socialists”? It scares me to think of what we, as human beings are capable of. Don’t worry, I am not advocating overthrowing any government, I just think it would be best if we the people of this country studied our history a bit more. All of this, just because of comics, sheesh!

Oh, and just incase my overactive imagination is right… if I wind up dead for any reason, this article is probably why. hahaha