My favorite silencing the sentry moment of all time was when I was browsing the pages of a Star Wars comic book. I happened upon a scene in which the large hands of Chewbacca were reaching for an unsuspecting Stormtrooper. The hands grabbed the sentry by his shoulder and helmet and snapped his masked face past the shoulder. The victim was left sprawled and forgotten as Chewbacca and friends made their escape.
The sentry was armed, armored and vigilant yet utterly useless. His violent death was inflicted with unceremonious ease. He was nothing to the hero who killed him and an expendable resource to the villains he served. Interestingly, he was only a baddie because he was following orders.
I shall never forget my grim amusement while watching the movie Where Eagles Dare. A crowd of German soldiers were hurrying up steps when suddenly finding themselves face-to-face with the intruder they sought. The startled throng hesitated only to be gunned down en masse. Interestingly, these men would later be harmless civilians had they survived the war.
I do not cheer for the little guy being little. The better man is always the bigger man and I want the best to win. I favor the silencing the sentry and hero versus throngs because they demonstrate the extraordinary putting the ordinary to shame. They are personal prowess besting the impersonal many.
I love heroes for being individuals who use their excellence to do good. I admire masterminds for having the gumption to do something big. As for helpless bystanders and useless thugs: I do not value their insignificant lives nor do I mourn their inconsequential deaths. Alas, even the useless can be put to good use: The helpless bystander is the screaming victim whose plight gives the hero selfless purpose. The useless thug is the cannon-fodder for acts of heroic violence.
The anonymous are smug in their anonymity. The worst evils are always committed by normal people following the rules to the letter. It is so much fun to see them spent as the disposable resource they really are.
Following someone else's agenda makes one complicit in its results. And the powers that be are all too willing to expend those they rule. If their lives are in vain, so are their deaths.
ReplyDeleteSo true: IF THEIR LIVES ARE IN VAIN, SO ARE THEIR DEATHS. People think they have value for no other reason that they exist.
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