Working Together

So, to pass the time at my household, my older sister and her husband and I have been playing an older game on our X-Box (note the lack of 360) called X-Men Legends. Now, my brother-in-law and I are both big fans of the Marvel universe, and also both big fans of the X-Men (especially Wolverine).

Because what reason do you have NOT to like him?

This being said, I'm a huge fan of the game for a different reason. It reminded me of other things I really liked (and I couldn't think of why): Some other games, such as World of Warcraft and Dungeons and Dragons, and a TV show called Leverage.  

The game is different than most in that it's an RPG, rather than an arcade-style fighting game, which most superhero games end up being. In this game, the characters gain levels and collect items just like in Final Fantasy, or, say, Pokemon, and instead of player-versus-player fighting, it's multiplayer is cooperative instead.

You build a team of 4 super-heroes and complete missions. Up to three other players can join in to take control of these heroes. At times, you need specific powers that you may not have, but a friend might: Iceman can use his ice powers to put out fires, Magma can build bridges out of molten rock, Jean Grey can flip switches telekinetically, et cetera.

Our team usually consisted of Wolverine, Iceman, Magma, and Storm.

I gave it some thought. World of Warcraft revolves around the concept of classes-- 10 different ones designed to do different jobs, or maybe the same job in different ways.

In case the text is too small, left to right starting at top: Death Knight, Druid, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, and Warrior.

Organizing raids or PvP (player-versus-player) is very difficult and takes many factors into account, and normally, if you don't have at least one of every class in many raids, you won't make it out alive.

Then, my thoughts drifted to Dungeons and Dragons, and the same fact is very similar. If you're a team of nothing but Rogues, either it will be incredibly awesome how you all completely avoid being seen, or incredibly terrible how you all get your asses handed to you by the first person who sees through your stealth.

After contemplating this, I thought about the TV show, Leverage. The thought struck me that it was essentially the same concept as the others; Each of the 5 members has a certain specialty, be it planning, conning, martial arts, thievery, or hacking. 

Again, L to R: The Hitter, Grifter, Mastermind, Thief, and Hacker, as the show advertises it.

The common thread is obvious. What I love most about all of these is the idea that a group of people, no matter how different, can come together and use their different skillsets to accomplish something greater than the individual. In Random Receipts, and even within my own family, we do the same thing with our varying gifts. It's nothing short of a blessing! That philosophy is something I take very seriously.

This is why I believe multiculturalism is so important. This philosophy works on a higher level that just the individual! If more people had a global perspective, it would be much easier to respect other cultures for what they have done for the world, and much more difficult to take for granted how much American culture (or any one culture, for that matter) relies on others. As an old internet joke used to say, 

"Your car is Japanese. Your Vodka is Russian. Your pizza is Italian. Your kebab is Turkish. Your democracy is Greek. Your coffee is Brazilian. Your Beers are German. Your shirt is Indian. Your oil is Saudi Arabian. Your electronics are Chinese. Your numbers? Arabic. Your alphabet? Latin. Other cultures are all around you, don't complain about having an immigrant for a neighbor."

I think the more people learn about other cultures, the better understanding we can have between individuals, and as a wonderful byproduct, we can cultivate an even better, non-exceptionalistic appreciation for our own culture.

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Peace and Love, thank you for reading!