Today I watched a movie Wild Wild West that I first saw in 1999. The evil genius in the film is Dr. Arliss
Loveless who plans to accomplish his plot to disestablish the United States in
1869 through the use of bizarre inventions—the principal one is a huge stories
high mechanical steam driven spider laden with weapons. It’s a delight to watch this foreboding
metallic monster belching soot lumbering about on steel hydraulic legs. This implausible contraption of Dr. Loveless is
a self-reflection since he is himself a legless force of venom ensconced in the
seat of a powered wheelchair. When
stated in a summary manner, however, his madness is not that atypical in the
world as we know it—commitment to the implausible is not an uncommon occurrence. It can be experienced daily in the lives of individuals
and societies. It is frequently driven
by the passions of greed, envy, revenge, or pride. Reality only returns when we become
overextended and the gravity of facts outweigh even our impassioned commitment
to cherished illusions—if we accept it mentally even then.
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