It has been a while since I have typed a blog for this wonderful community. There a number of reasons (aside from personal), but I will keep it brief in one:

I felt there was not anything I could meaningfully contribute.

Video games are my hobby, not my life. I wish it were, but I am a tad altruistic, and thus must dedicate my efforts to that end.

I want to be a politician. An honest one. A Mr. Smith (Mr. Stewart, not Mr. Weaving).

I also understand all the pratfalls that come with it. If I am in anyway successful, then my life will be eternally under scrutiny, even before my career ever begins. This is why I removed information from my profile. I know anyone who really wants to know who I am can find out with a little effort, I just want to make a speed bump for the laughs.

Why is any of this relevant? Simply put, after 2 years of self-imposed silence, I can finally share something with you that's brings the worlds we love go to the world we call home.

You see, my idea of breaking into the political spectrum is slightly different then others. I am working on a dual major in physics and economics, but I do not wish to be a physicist or an economist. I want to go to a reputable law school, but I do not wish to be a lawyer. I want to be a politician. One who has an understanding on how the world exists, how we exchange with each other, and how we write it's laws. A long road ahead, but one that I hope will bring me fulfillment.

Why the hell do you care? It's all about context friends.

Metal Gear is my absolute favorite game series. The only other series I had more play time with is Mario, and that just isn't fair. In fact, upon reflection, it was a major catalyst of me pursuing my goals, it had me reflect heavily upon the world I live in.

In the years that passed, as each game was released, I have been expanding myself for the pursuit of my business in life. For the most part, in my life video games and politics have always been separate from each other, almost to the point of mutual exclusivity. They never really came together for me, which is why I never felt I could bring something to the Destructoid pantheon to call my own. However, something was nagging me. Every time I studied economics and it's relationship with politics over the years, especially the modern era (them being closely entwined), something nagged at the back of my head. It was strange, what I was reading felt so familiar.

This is when things got interesting.

I am a Marine brat, and considered joining the Corps for years. The Corps has always been a major part of my life. There is one in particular I want you to meet. Major General Smedley "The Fighting Quaker" Butler.

Other than being a general (ha) badass (one of the few Marines to ever win two Medals of Honor), he was quite a trouble maker for years, before and after his retirement. He was a good Marine. He was also very anti-war, not all wars though. What he most despised, was war that was fought for something as trite as money. Before I divulge into that further, there is something you should know about Marines. Good Marines exhibit something that sets them apart from other branches of service. Their emphasis on God, Country, and Corps. Before you get to worrying, it's not exactly what you think it means.

It's an indoctrination (while coarse, it is the simplest proper word) of how a Marine relates to the world around them. Their relationship with themselves, the world around them, and everyone else in whatever individual manner they feel is best (God, which is not Christian exclusive); devotion to protecting America, it's Constitution, and the ideas it was founded on (Country); and a unique brotherhood with their own (Corps). This translates into something fun. To blatantly steal from Parker and Stone, Marines are dicks. That is their purpose. They fuck with things as ordered. In fact, if it were not for orders, laws, and basic biological needs (there are always exceptions), that is what they would do almost every second of every day. They fuck up targets, they fuck with people, they fuck with each other. Perhaps most importantly, they fuck with anything they disagree with.

And now back to Butler. His argument is simply that war in his time was never about the security of his beloved nation, but rather he was only serving truly selfish business interests. He felt this practice must stop, and campaigned to try to bring it to the end to the practice. This quote puts it succinctly:

"I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents."

Sound familiar?

Hideo Kojima is a brilliant man. We will be talking about his work for decades, in fact I will be willing to wager his works will be regarded as a classic to the medium, similar to what the Divine Comedy is to literature. How can I possibly make such a boast? I am going to quote Butler once more:

"There isn't a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It has its 'finger men' to point out enemies, its 'muscle men' to destroy enemies, its 'brain men' to plan war preparations, and a "Big Boss" Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism."

Let that sink in.

When I read that for the first time, I felt like I was struck by a brick. This was a real man. A true hero. The connection was so damn obvious is was starting to squee in nerdity a little. Then I started to think about the connection, and my stomach started to turn.

Part II coming soon.

Also Dr. Cox

PS, please forgive my failure of adding pics to post. Blogging is a little new to me.