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Profiles in Courage: Godzilla - King of Monsters
I’d like to take a moment and focus on something good in our lives. It’s easy to focus on the negatives that life offers us in our day to day grind, what with the news showing horrible stories on TV all the time. It’s easy to forget that not everyone is a child rapist like Michael Jackson and that there are good people and things that exist around us that don’t get the attention that the media lavishes upon the evil in our world. That's why I'd like to shed some light on a rather unsung hero, Godzilla. For many years Godzilla has been on the forefront of battling giant evil monsters. Even with the increasing power of technology, Godzilla can still put the smack down on the newest Mecha-Godzilla to come along, ensuring we will wake up to live another day. Godzilla has fought for our freedom and safety for over 50 years, and he has done so with little thanks or praise. Monster after monster has come to eat us or smoosh us, or whatever monsters love to do, and Godzilla is there to stop them in their evil tracks, wings, or whatever. Sure, Godzilla is not without his critics. The millions of charred corpses from every "encounter" with the creature have created a good basis for his many detractors. Words such as "menace" and "monster" have been bandied about rather liberally when it comes to descriptions of this several ton savior. While we can't over look Godzilla's faults, we must focus on his achievements, like we do for Zombie Abe Lincoln. How many times must Godzilla defeat aliens from Planet X that look just like Japanese (whose sole purpose is to conquer Earth) or white men from the future intent on Japan's destruction (because they are jealous of Japan's eventual rise to become the number one superpower) does it take before Godzilla gets his due as a true savior of humanity?
As Americans it may be easy to over look Godzilla's "transgressions" against the general population of Japan. After all, our only real giant monster is a giant ape with a thing for blondes and no radioactive super powers. (Editors note: It has been proven that thing that attacked Mathew Broderick was not Godzilla, but rather Sarah Jessica Parker.) We don't face the horrors of being stomped, crushed, or generally mutilated by a hundred foot tall creature any day. And while it is true Godzilla has directly attacked humans on several occasions, I can tell you that as an observer and a thinker that Godzilla should be applauded. The enormous cost of rebuilding Tokyo every single year is made up by the heroics of this giant lizard creature. Is it Godzilla's fault that Japan still builds skyscrapers that crumple as if they were made of balsawood and colored Styrofoam? No, I think not. The billions of lives Godzilla saves in his battles against such threats as the Atlantians and gigantic robots is worth a few trillion yen lost each year. If that isn't convincing enough, there's more. It's also little known that thanks to Godzilla, violence in schools is down 25%, and drug addiction with teens fell another 1% this year. We must confront the issue that Godzilla is a double-edged sword of rewards and benefits head on. He is a living reminder of the cost of meddling with radioactive bombs, as the Blue Oyster song poetically repeats, "again and again, nature points out the folly of man...Godzilla!" But, Godzilla also shows us that there is hope in every misbegotten creation of man. Just as Frankenstein's monster is well known for his charitable efforts like his recent Tsunami Disaster relief drive, so too Godzilla has his benefits as a protector, albeit somewhat destroyer, of mankind. From behalf of both of us at Digital Monkey Box, thank you Godzilla for keeping us safe and for not killing us. - Paul - 2/10/2005 If you like Godzilla, check out these great links: DVD reviews: Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah/Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle For Earth Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack Games: Godzilla: Destroy all Monsters Melee
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