I've been thinking about something I wrote last October, and I think it might be worth sharing here (I'll even include the crappy picture I made on my phone last year, as well). It seems like the observations I made almost a year ago now are becoming more accurate, but I concur with my 'past self' so-to-speak, and would still love to hear what you all think about this.

I would love your feedback on a theory I've been working on for a while now. I call it "The Watchmen Principle."

For those of you that haven't seen Zach Snyder's adaptation of the 'Watchmen' graphic novel, here is a brief summary of the film (spoilers ahead):

Obviously, feel free to skip this section if you've already seen it.

In an alternate timeline of history, Richard Nixon has been president for multiple consecutive terms, and the Cold War has escalated to the brink of nuclear war. The US is filled with vigilantes, though only one (named Dr. Manhattan) has super powers. Dr. Manhattan's powers are virtually limitless, and he gives the US a strategic advantage over the Soviet Union in their ever-escalating tensions.

The movie follows a few ex-vigilantes as they investigate the murders of their former colleagues. As the events in the film play out, experts move the hands on a literal doomsday clock closer and closer to "midnight," which symbolizes the certainty of a nuclear armageddon as the result of conflict between the US and USSR.

As the hands on the clock reach "midnight," the heroes of the film uncover a massive conspiracy orchestrated by one of their own, a former vigilante named Ozymandias. Ozymandias had been working with the powerful Dr. Manhattan under the auspices of creating an energy solution to end the Cold War, but had secretly been developing devastating bombs which bore the same energy signature as Dr. Manhattan. Ozymandias correctly surmises that a war between the US and USSR is inevitable, barring some extraordinary unifying cause. Thus, Ozymandias spent years developing these weapons, and hiding them throughout both the US and USSR, understanding that in detonating them, he was "killing millions, to save billions."

The plan succeeds, and ruse works, and the film ends with the Americans and Soviets banding together against the larger threat of Dr. Manhattan gone rogue.

The reason this film has been stuck in my mind for a while, and this theory eventually began to form, is because I believe there is an underlying principle worth discussing, what I've named "The Watchmen Principle." It can simply be expressed as follows:

The larger the divide between two entities, the larger the expenditure of resources that will be necessary to bridge that divide.

A small crack in a sidewalk can be stepped across.

A ditch requires a long stride, or perhaps a small jump.

A creek can be crossed with a simple log laid across it.

A river requires the construction of a bridge, as do many canyons.

Consider larger canyons, such as the Grand Canyon. What would be required to physically bring it together at its widest point? What if it was twice as wide, three times, or ten?

My conclusion is that there are gaps sufficiently large enough that only two things are capable of bringing the sides together: immense force, or massively destabilizing events.

Consider the gap between the earth and the moon, or the earth and mars. It took a tremendous amount of human effort, capital, and governmental action to cross those gaps. This is the metaphor for force. The earth and moon are not organically bridged, and thus large quantities of resources and force are necessary to bring them together.

The second is a large, destabilizing event, caused by an outside force or entity. In the event of a large canyon, consider a devastating earthquake, effectively leveling the area. The sides are now "bridged" but the area is also now wholly unrecognizable, and largely destroyed. This is the scenario that played out in the film.

With this reality in mind, now let us apply it to relational divides. Consider the oft-used term "irreconcilable differences" in divorce proceedings. If you were to approximate our current cultural divide into a physical representation, what would you use? Is it a creek? A river? A canyon? Larger?

Understand, that I am in no way, shape, or form condoning or advocating the immoral actions or morbid ideology of Ozymandias in the film. I am simply trying conceptualize the gravity and potential consequences of the course we are on as a culture and society.

Frankly, I am unsure where we are. I don't know if we are approaching the "Watchmen Threshold" of the principle. We might already be across it, and we might be farther away then it seems. I truly do not know. What I do feel confident in is an assessment that however far away, that threshold is where our current trajectory is taking us. Unless we take steps, as individuals, to intentionally seek to heal our divide, that trajectory will remain constant. As I've said multiple times on Twitter and YouTube, we need to dialogue with those we disagree with, not "dunk" on them. We need to listen, not lambaste. Conversation, not castigation. You get the idea.

If you're still reading this:
1) Thank you!
2) What are your thoughts? Does this seem accurate, or am I way off in the weeds? Where do you think we are as a society? Is it as bad as it seems? Worse? Better? Why? I'd love to hear what you all think!