Just a passing thought that keeps popping back up. There's just been too many crappy superhero movies that promote how "good will overpower evil" and show how superheroes are pretty much invincible. They portray their heroes as amazing, yet the heroes often abuse their powers just as much as the villains. I'm not trying to ruin anyone's dreams or make them hate their favourite characters, but I feel that there is a lot that even heroes can improve, that is since many idolizes them.
Powers aren't beneficial to society. Superheroes and Supervillains. Having superpowers creates the ability for both. Take the anime Hero Academia for example. Once powers started appearing, it created the "Hero" job for people with quirks, with powers. Although the Heroes were portrayed as amazing and basically idols for everyone, they are no different to the police we see everyday, only with a "cooler" level because they have powers. Their powers are only used to keep those with the same power in check. It balances out right?
Well, that's the problem. Although not all the quirks were strong, Villains with strong quirks would be able to devastate cities, as commonly seen in Marvell or DC movies. Although the hero does save the day, it is unlikely that in reality no one would get hurt. As well as taking account of the damage done to the city, having superpowers in reality at a large or common scale would basically cause an increase in the problems we are already facing. I might sound pessimistic in not thinking about the good having powers would be able to bring, such as decreasing infrastructure costs and time, but the majority of people would only use their powers for selfish reasons. People are unpredictable in where they'll go, and there's no guarantee they won't abuse their powers.
If powers are neutral, it's just too much of a risk on betting on how someone will use it. If I wanted a superpower, it would be the ability to alter cells. I could be able to use it to bring back amputated limbs and help people in the hospital. But I could also commit murder and get away with it easily, blaming their deaths for natural reasons. I'm a morally grey person so I may be an exception to my thinking, but who knows. Even statistics show that most people don't react to how they think they would when the situation appears. So rather than depending on powers, we should just depend on what we have to help others in society.
Having superpowers would just make everyone's life a harder time. Individually as well as for the greater good. Ted-Ed has a series of videos based on why it would be the case. Having Superstrength would mean you have to spend every minute being extremely careful that you wouldn't crush the things around you. That would be horrible, especially when our natural intent is against destroying. Think about the guilt someone would have if they accidently broke something in a store. My brother broke a display glass once and I lost my month's savings for it. Now think about having superpowers. Man, those stores must be rolling rich in money from the amount of accidents that happen. Not good. Even if you didn't have superstrength as a power, there would definitely be other things that cause you to have to be very careful. People with powers would basically be living in fear of themselves.
Have you every wanted to kill yourself? Just kidding. But still. Many people question their meaning for life. Me included. Would getting powers really be able to help it? Although it's depressing, often when deciding they have no meaning in life, people choose to end it. Having superpowers could be one way to deal with this self worth problem, or so you thought. Everything can be shaped through propaganda as "good" or "bad". Having powers means that people will be able to make themselves more confident, or they could see themselves as nothing but their power. Then think about those with weaker powers, or even no powers. Everyone is special. We have spent a long time trying to combat different forms of discrimination: racial, gender, sexuality, money. Having superpowers would just cause more drama and allow more people to abuse their rights of freedom of speech. Therefore, there would be an increase in numbers of therapy patients or those who feel oppressed because of their own abilities given by chance. Accepting ourselves is difficult already for many people, and having superpowers would increase the difficulty.
Just a passing thought that went through my head. In the end, it's a total load of crap. We are already creating our own superpowers through advanced technology. Although it has improved the world we live in overall, we're probably going to all die within the next few centuries due to the huge growing population and lack of food. Until then, I'm going to find a job that deems myself acceptable for survival these holidays.
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Also published in What Now?
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Speeches and Essays
Non-FictionJust fun speeches I do in my spare time or for competitions. Most of these are written hurriedly in an hour's time. Feel free to use them as your speeches so long as you change it up, though i doubt they will be super convincing.
