Everything I ever needed to know about human rationale and personal relations I learned from a single scene from Independence Day.

For some strange reason that eludes the movie Independence Day has been on basic cable almost constantly over the last couple months. I mean it is on almost every channel I swear; TNT, Bravo, TBS, BET, Verses. I did not really care for the movie then nor do I now.

I remember seeing that movie in the theaters when it originally came out years ago. There were two things about the movie that pissed me off (besides that it existed). The first one was that all it took for the people of the world to unite and work together was the mass extermination of the human race as a species by an extraterrestrial threat that was leap years beyond the people of earth in both terms of technological know how and strategic capability. I hope this thought makes you sleep well at night as it does me. Though I'm sure the minute after Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith lit up their stogies and Goldblum finally won the acceptance of the President by implementing a virus into the mother ship to drop the defensive shields that protected the martians from our ineffective weapons that Israel continued to illegally create more settlements on the Gaza Strip while The United States tried to put missiles in Poland to piss off Russia. I guess for the whole we are the world feeling to kick in again we'll have to wait for Independence Day 2 which I'm sure will involve some sort of asteroid slowly making it way to the earth that will obliterate all civilization as we know it.

The other thing that I remember about the movie Independence was the whole scene where the aliens finally decided to obliterate various parts of the earth with their high tech martian death rays. What we the viewers get to see is millions of people dieing what I can only guess are quick painless deaths. The particular scene that pissed me off was towards the end of all the death and destruction and I'm sure you will remember it to. It was the scene where Vivica Fox's character and her son have to run from their car to escape their impending doom. They are able to break open a door in some sort of tunnel(!) so they can live to be reunited with Will Smith (was it worth it)? Wait one second though because Max the family dog is doing what most dogs do; standing around like a fucking idiot on the street while a wall of fire is rapidly approaching him. Luckily Vivica Fox's tears must smell of kibble so the dog was able to jump in through the door and barely escape a horrible, fiery death.

What I remember really pissing me of at the time was that the whole theater applauded in unison when the screen faded to black and the dog was safe. I for one did not clap because of two reasons. The first reason being I'm not a fucking toddler. The second reason is that I find it hard to clap when millions of people are whipped off the face of the earth in a nanosecond while one dog escapes! Are we serious as a society? Did anyone clap when Vivica Fox's character and her little kid were safe? I don't think so. What does this say about us a society that we value animals more than we do human life. I can bet that if something like this happened there would have been less clapping and more people demanding their money back.

Hey. I do like dogs. I swear I do. I have even had some as a pet. You would be surprised that I even got sad when they died. But I think it says something about who we are as a society that we get upset about cruelty to animals but don't really get too concerned about the quality of life or suffering of are fellow human beings.

And I know what you are saying. "Webby you are full of shit. Independence day is just a movie. You're point sucks." I know it is just a movie. I only recently learned that it wasn't based on a true story like Spaceballs was. Let me remind you of a recent event and how you felt about it in relation to other events around the world.

Remember the Michael Vick case? I'm sure you do because it was all over the news. He is now in jail for federal charges related to his involvement in a dog fighting ring. Yes I know that dog fighting is a vicious and inhuman activity. I know it is particularly egregious since the dogs really have no choice in the matter involving their participation in such an event. How outraged were you? You had a right to be.

Now take into account the amount of people in this country who don't have health care. Statistics say that around 46 million people do not have health care insurance. How do you think their quality of life is? How about our soldiers who fought over in Iraq who lost their lives, limbs, or their mind? How outraged does that make you especially considering the way the war was sold to the American people and managed by those in charge? How about the vast number of Iraqis who have either been killed in the occupation or the millions who have been forced to leave their homes and their countries. How about the thousands of people who died in the Gaza Strip recently. How about are homeless situation? The exploitation of children in third world countries?

I think it says something about are culture and us as Americans when we get more worked up about dogs than we do each other. I would blame the media for pumping up the Vick dogfighting story but I think the American people are more culpable in this situation because the media are only providing what they think the American people want.

I understand why the deaths of some dogs get people more worked up. They are seen as innocent entities and they are cute to boot. Admitely is easy to get worked up about it and people should. I just wish it was easier for people to get as outraged about something like the Michael Vick situation as it it is to get pissed off about the suffering and death of their fellow man. This planet might be a better place. And maybe it wouldn't take an alien invasion and our threatened extinction by an interplanetary enemy to unite the people of earth. Or even worse another horrid we are the world song. Talk about human suffering!

(And I do love dogs honestly. But I should disclose that to keep my youthful appearance I drink the blood of kittens while bathing in the blood of golden retrievers.)