The Greater Good

Photo by Duncan Kidd on Unsplash

I turned on the TV this afternoon and saw the last 45 minutes of "Saving Private Ryan".

It occurred to me that most of this movie is probably incomprehensible to Comrade Krasnov, who simply can't understand why people would sacrifice themselves for the greater good. To him, there is nothing greater than the fulfillment of his own desires, the accumulation of wealth, the exercise of power in the service of petty grievances, the feeling of nasty satisfaction obtained from being able to destroy an entire nation.

A film like that is no doubt also meaningless to Musk, who is ignorant of American history, oblivious to patriotism, and unable to identify with people who want to help others.

After his life is saved, Private Ryan is advised that he should try to deserve what his comrades did for him, and he takes that to heart, striving to live a righteous life, to be a good man. Krasnov and Musk don't feel obligated to make such an effort; in their minds, they are entitled to have all life on earth sacrificed for them, simply because they have "good genes".