- Sep 22, 2013
- 4,956
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Governance and social contracts are very important to humanity, as multiple politics-theorists such as Rousseau and Hobbes have suggested.
When alliances crumble and nation-states turn upon each other (as in the American Civil War and Vietnam War), what is revealed is the dependency on treaties to restore sanity and peace.
American comic books present 'superhuman' characters who symbolize civilization perspectives on civics and jurisprudence and even governance (e.g., the ethical federal management of genetic cloning). Stories about these fantastic superhuman comic book characters (e.g., X-Men) engaged in symbolic contract-clarification 'Civil Wars' therefore represent modern-era 'teamwork storytelling,' which should be very intriguing to the Trump Administration (since it seems to be focused on competitive economics based political expediency).
Will Trump be remembered fondly as Captain America or reviled as Two-Face?
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Nightcrawer and Wolverine held very different views on how the mutant legion of superheroes known as the 'X-Men' should be led. Nightcrawler believed the X-Men should follow the metaphysics wisdom of their teacher/mentor Professor X who taught them to champion democracy even when it is risky. Wolverine, on the other hand, favored more Machiavellian attitudes and believed that if humanity exercised bigotry against the mutant X-Men, then the X-Men should retaliate with anti-civilization platforms (e.g., terrorism). This perspective schism effectively split the X-Men and led to what was known as the Mutant Civil War.
Nightcrawler's allies included Colossus (a super-strong dude of metal), Storm (an African-American woman with the power to change weather systems), and Gambit (a bomb-throwing acrobat). Wolverine's allies included Rogue (a woman with the power to drain energy), Mystique (a shape-shifter who is actually Nightcrawler's biological but estranged mother), and Magneto (a fierce mutant who can manipulate magnetism and therefore move heavy metal objects). Nightcrawler called his team The Ideal X-Men, while Wolverine called his squad the Machiavellian X-Army. Nightcrawler sought Professor X's wise counsel, while Wolverine relied on martial instincts alone.
Nightcrawler knew to undo the power and potency of Wolverine's team, he would have to crawl under their skin with mind-tricks. Nightcrawler himself was very wily and agile and could move like a lizard, making him somewhat sensitive to the sharp turns of the natural mind. Nightcrawler knew that one of Wolverine's weaknesses was that he was very concerned about the love affair between Phoenix and Cyclops, two retired X-Men. Phoenix was a telepath, while Cyclops had laser-vision, and the two fell in love, much to Wolverine's dismay (Wolverine was secretly in love with Phoenix and confided in Nightcrawler!). Nightcrawler decided to send an op-ed to the Washington Post (which Wolverine's team was sure to read), and the notice would turn the tide of the Civil War:
"The Ideal X-Men believe that Wolverine's Machiavellian X-Army has betrayed the teachings of our mentor Professor X and therefore threatens the sanity and security of human civilization. As leader of the Ideal X-Men, I (Nightcrawler) believe it is my duty to inform the American people that Wolverine's natural angst regarding an estranged and unrequited love with a retired female X-Men member named Phoenix makes him too sensitive to the demands of everyday people (e.g., civics/etiquette issues!). Furthermore, Wolverine is not willing to listen to the voice of the people who seek to reach out to him and use 'emotion diplomacy' to find profitable routes to peace. That is why the Ideal X-Men will use a media-approach to deal with the anti-civilization platform of the Machiavellian X-Army, though we still hope that a beneficial treaty can be reached, which will forever assure humanity that superhuman mutants are committed to intelligence (e.g., Pleasantville) and not McCarthyism-esque gambling (e.g., WarGames)!"
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When alliances crumble and nation-states turn upon each other (as in the American Civil War and Vietnam War), what is revealed is the dependency on treaties to restore sanity and peace.
American comic books present 'superhuman' characters who symbolize civilization perspectives on civics and jurisprudence and even governance (e.g., the ethical federal management of genetic cloning). Stories about these fantastic superhuman comic book characters (e.g., X-Men) engaged in symbolic contract-clarification 'Civil Wars' therefore represent modern-era 'teamwork storytelling,' which should be very intriguing to the Trump Administration (since it seems to be focused on competitive economics based political expediency).
Will Trump be remembered fondly as Captain America or reviled as Two-Face?
====
Nightcrawer and Wolverine held very different views on how the mutant legion of superheroes known as the 'X-Men' should be led. Nightcrawler believed the X-Men should follow the metaphysics wisdom of their teacher/mentor Professor X who taught them to champion democracy even when it is risky. Wolverine, on the other hand, favored more Machiavellian attitudes and believed that if humanity exercised bigotry against the mutant X-Men, then the X-Men should retaliate with anti-civilization platforms (e.g., terrorism). This perspective schism effectively split the X-Men and led to what was known as the Mutant Civil War.
Nightcrawler's allies included Colossus (a super-strong dude of metal), Storm (an African-American woman with the power to change weather systems), and Gambit (a bomb-throwing acrobat). Wolverine's allies included Rogue (a woman with the power to drain energy), Mystique (a shape-shifter who is actually Nightcrawler's biological but estranged mother), and Magneto (a fierce mutant who can manipulate magnetism and therefore move heavy metal objects). Nightcrawler called his team The Ideal X-Men, while Wolverine called his squad the Machiavellian X-Army. Nightcrawler sought Professor X's wise counsel, while Wolverine relied on martial instincts alone.
Nightcrawler knew to undo the power and potency of Wolverine's team, he would have to crawl under their skin with mind-tricks. Nightcrawler himself was very wily and agile and could move like a lizard, making him somewhat sensitive to the sharp turns of the natural mind. Nightcrawler knew that one of Wolverine's weaknesses was that he was very concerned about the love affair between Phoenix and Cyclops, two retired X-Men. Phoenix was a telepath, while Cyclops had laser-vision, and the two fell in love, much to Wolverine's dismay (Wolverine was secretly in love with Phoenix and confided in Nightcrawler!). Nightcrawler decided to send an op-ed to the Washington Post (which Wolverine's team was sure to read), and the notice would turn the tide of the Civil War:
"The Ideal X-Men believe that Wolverine's Machiavellian X-Army has betrayed the teachings of our mentor Professor X and therefore threatens the sanity and security of human civilization. As leader of the Ideal X-Men, I (Nightcrawler) believe it is my duty to inform the American people that Wolverine's natural angst regarding an estranged and unrequited love with a retired female X-Men member named Phoenix makes him too sensitive to the demands of everyday people (e.g., civics/etiquette issues!). Furthermore, Wolverine is not willing to listen to the voice of the people who seek to reach out to him and use 'emotion diplomacy' to find profitable routes to peace. That is why the Ideal X-Men will use a media-approach to deal with the anti-civilization platform of the Machiavellian X-Army, though we still hope that a beneficial treaty can be reached, which will forever assure humanity that superhuman mutants are committed to intelligence (e.g., Pleasantville) and not McCarthyism-esque gambling (e.g., WarGames)!"
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