Look to the Nerds – the Nerds Will Save Us…

We live in an increasingly morally-gray time...

It’s no big news flash to anybody, I’m sure, and as we surge forward as a race of people upon this planet we’re discovering more and more that the more detailed something becomes, the more definite we define something, the harder it is to declare anything as entirely anything.

Some people point to Dr. Alfred Kinsey as a principal source for this dilution of absolutes when he created his “Kinsey Scale of Sexuality” that posited that nobody is 100% straight or 100% gay and instead we all have some sort of mix of sexuality.  Whether or not this is actually true is irrelevant (read: I don’t actually care), but the dissolution of absolutes is a certainty.  

This is especially prevalent in politics here in the US, where we have precisely ZERO politicians who we believe are wholly good people.  The popular saying is that we are always forced to choose between the lesser of two evils and the majority of Americans have pretty much resigned themselves to their fate of being lead by people that they don’t really believe in or like, but merely those whom they dislike the least.

            Yes, this is a very real problem.

            Yes, it can be solved.

            No, it will not be easy.

            But it will be a hell of a lot of fun - to watch and to be a part of.

            The solution, in a single word:  Nerds.

            Yes.  Nerds.  The Nerds will save us.  And they’ll be spectacularly awesome in doing so.

So lets start with the very concept that begins this piece, the concept of right and wrong and absolutes.  I put it to you, dear reader, to name me anybody who knows more about right and wrong than nerds.  The people who immerse themselves daily in morality tales – whether they’re movies, comics, novels, fan-fiction, role-playing games, or video games.  These are people who have collectively saved the multiverse an infinite number of times and continue to do so, daily.  

You may laugh, and you wouldn’t be the first, but consider this:  Who would you trust to do the right thing the most often; someone who reads newspapers?  Or someone who reads Superman comics?  You’re looking at a choice between someone who lives their lives at the whim of the media and has no hard-and-fast defined moral compass and someone who worships the personification of truth and justice.  Don’t get me wrong – I’d hire newspaper guy to do my taxes and help me buy a house, but when it comes to who do I want backing me up in a fight or lending a hand in times of trouble, an kindly ear to listen to my troubles, or a shoulder to cry on – give me a Superman any day of the week.

As Terry Pratchett said in Men at Arms:

            “If you have to look along the shaft of an arrow from the wrong end, if a man has you entirely at his mercy, then hope like hell that man is an evil man. Because the evil like power, power over people, and they want to see you in fear. They want you to know you're going to die. So they'll talk. They'll gloat.

            They'll watch you squirm. They'll put off the moment of murder like another man will put off a good cigar.

            So hope like hell your captor is an evil man. A good man will kill you with hardly a word.”

The quote has always spoken to me about certainty, and it comes to mind more and more these days as we, as a race of people, are less certain of anything.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m a firm believer in compromise – extremes and extremists are best viewed as cautionary examples of how horribly too-far something can be taken – but the idea, the concept of a good man knowing the difference between right and wrong and acting accordingly is an important thing to note.

And who knows right and wrong better than nerds?

But beyond the mythology and religion of nerds let’s take a second to really think about what nerds go through and survive throughout their lives...

They’re persecuted for their fandom.  

They’re made fun of by “cool” people constantly.

They’re ostracized and outcast – by their peers, their families, and society at large.

They’re misunderstood by anybody outside of their particular geekdom, and yet ANYBODY who comes to them wanting to know more is INSTANTLY welcomed.  (it’s true – if you ever want to feel like a welcome, accepted, and appreciated member of something just ask a nerd to tell you why they love what they love and you’ll become their best friend immediately).

Nerds know what it’s like to be outsiders, so they’re all-inclusive and they welcome new friends and members to their ranks.

Nerds know what it’s like to be judged, so they don’t judge others based on where their fandom or loyalties lie.  (sure, they’ll bicker amongst themselves, but no more so than any family does – and while they may disagree with each other, woe to the outsider who dares to speak against one of their own)

And, very importantly, nerds know what it’s like to share.  Hobbies and obsessions are expensive and nerds are well aware of this, which is why they’re typically all too willing to let fellow nerds use their gear/equipment/books/dice/action figures.  Hell, in The Nerd League (my cadre of friends – my second family – my brothers-in-dice), a group of about a dozen guys who have played D&D for most of our lives, we have, I think, two copies of the player’s handbook.  Mind you, this is the ONE book that is absolutely essential to play, and every time we decide to play D&D we pass it around the like the town bicycle.  The same thing goes for dice – we have, collectively, roughly 1,000 dice between the 13 of us and without fail SOMEONE forgets theirs every time we play.  Why?  Because we damn well know that there are enough to go around and we’re willing to share.

I’m getting off-track here, sorry.  Ultimately, nerds go through hell for most of their lives for simply being who they are and loving what they love and it never stops them.  Where else are you going to find that kind of strength of character?  That steadfastness?

So if you want to see change in society; if you want to see justice done, people treated fairly, everybody included and welcomed – look to nerds as your leaders.

I gave up on caring about presidential debates long ago, but I would pay hard cash to watch two presidential candidates duke it out on Starcraft.

I would commit voter fraud just so I could cast multiple votes for a candidate who can explain to me how T.H.A.C.0 works.

I guarantee you right now – you elect a nerd and you’ll see real change real fast to the greatest benefit of the most people for the greatest good.

After all, it was Spock himself who said “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few…  Or the one.”   

And who knows (and lives) Star Trek quotes better than a nerd?