Ripples

Adrian Veidt, the Big Bad of Alan Moore’s seminal graphic novel; Watchmen, in a bid to save and correct the course upon which humanity has set itself (nuclear holocaust), decides that the only way to do this and unite the world is to drop a massive, genetically-engineered, exploding squid on a large part of New York, which kills millions instantly. The governments of the world – incorrectly believing this to be of alien descent and signs of a possible forthcoming invasion – put aside their differences and unite to combat the perceived greater foe.

This is a VERY condensed summary of one of, if not THE, greatest graphic novels of our time, but to me its climax (albeit substituting squid for killer virus) is a prescient warning to our current situation. Until the last few weeks, the world seemed fractured with more division than commonality, but now with a major threat to us, which has already killed thousands (and will kill a whole lot more if we don’t do our bit), governments are uniting and solidarity has become our watch word as we adjust and rally to defeat our unsettling and unseen foe.

Whilst this collaborative effort is of course the way to go, I can’t help pondering why does it take something of this scale and magnitude to remind us that we do actually have more in common than that which divides us? 

I’ll leave that hanging as I think it will take someone much smarter than I to figure that out, but it was something I was considering on the return journey from a lovely drive out to Bootle on the west coast of Cumbria.

I’d not ventured far for a week and half and wanted some sea air, so I packed a car picnic for us and we headed out enjoying the views and singing along to the Hairspray soundtrack – I had Bon Iver playing on the way back, which might explain the reflective mood on the return journey. It was bracing on the coast to say the least, but I got some nice pictures of the children and some unwanted cobwebs were summarily dispatched without us touching any one or indeed, any thing. 

Stay healthy (and watch out for massive, exploding squid).