Chapter 534: Schiller's Expertise (Part 1) (Patreon)

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Left or right, that is the question.

Before delving into this matter, it is necessary to clarify what is meant by left and what is meant by right. Some might think that communism is left and capitalism is right, but that's not entirely accurate.

When this concept was initially developed, left represented radicalism, while right represented conservatism. Later, Marc believed that left-leaning represented advanced systems and the lower classes, while right-leaning represented traditional systems and the privileged class.

In Western economic society, left stands for democracy, and right stands for freedom. Correct, initially, democracy and freedom were actually opposing concepts.

Specific details need not be elaborated, but one must mention one thing: the far left and the far right.

The so-called far left, summarized with a not entirely accurate but relatively simple concept, is the unrestricted sacrifice of personal freedom for the sake of public security, with everything under the absolute control of the mighty state apparatus, leaving no personal freedoms intact.

On the other hand, the far right advocates for the removal of all restrictions, the elimination of benefits for the weak, survival of the fittest, with no governmental control. It involves an oligarchic rule and the pursuit of absolute freedom.

Many people might have already realized that in fact, the Superhero Registration Act is a left-leaning act.

As previously mentioned, only left-leaning approaches would concern themselves with the safety of the lower classes, that is, the so-called public safety. They advocate sacrificing some personal freedom to support the weaker individuals, striving for equality.

If it were a right-leaning approach, they simply wouldn't bother with this act. The strong Superheroes would become stronger, the weaklings weaker, and it would be their own problem.

But the problem is, this is the U.S., a capitalist country where right-wing ideologies prevail. However, why is this the case? It's related to the concepts previously mentioned. The capitalists surely hope the government won't meddle in the economy, the less regulation, the better; ideally, they don't want to provide welfare to the lower classes so they won't have to pay taxes.

So, in a country like this, why was the Superhero Registration Act introduced? There are two reasons.

Firstly, fundamentally, politicians differ from capitalists. Politicians are not gold-centered, but power-centered. Their everything relies on the size of their authority. The priority of anything can't surpass the magnitude of their power.

Therefore, ideological struggles are like a gun. They shoot when they need to shoot, but it's best to stay silent when they don't need to shoot. As long as they can control these Superheroes to serve their authority, ideology is not the most important aspect.

Secondly, the survival of the fittest advocated by the right is not suitable in this case. Because, for Superheroes, all ordinary people are weaker. Survival of the fittest would mean they are offering themselves up as a meal to the Superheroes.

When the Superheroes are strong, they naturally advocate survival of the fittest. But when they are weak, they must propose laws to restrict and supervise the strong. This is why the debate between left and right is an eternal proposition, always swinging back and forth.

Someone might say, since left-leaning tendencies are more inclined toward communism and the concerns of the lower classes, Congress plays the role of liberator in this matter, and they are the good guys.

However, it's not that simple. Left and right are not only about actions and results, but also about motives. To truly understand the essence through appearances in the ideological struggle, one must look at the primary motives.

Congress proposing this act is fundamentally not about the concerns of the lower classes. The statement by the congressman who chaired the meeting, "Public safety is our top priority," can be interpreted the other way around.

In reality, public safety is their last concern. Their first concern is the size of their authority, the second is the division of authority, the third is personal interests, and only then may the safety of ordinary people be considered.

Or, in fact, they might have never considered the safety of ordinary people, because they are well aware that once conflicts among Superheroes are provoked, resulting in wars, it could pose a greater threat to public safety, but they don't care at all.

So, if we must categorize the Superhero Registration Act, we can say that the logic of the content is left-leaning, but the motives and eventual results are certainly right-leaning.

Having analyzed this, let's now look at the choices of all the characters in the original comic.

Iron Man chose to agree with the act, while Captain America chose to disagree. This is not fundamentally because Iron Man protects ordinary people and Captain America defends the Superheroes, but because the congressmen set a trap with this act.

In other words, they showed Iron Man the left-leaning aspects of the act, and with Iron Man's intelligence, he could naturally understand that the act is left-leaning. If fully implemented, it could protect ordinary citizens.

But what they showed Captain America was the extreme left-leaning part of the act, which involves excessive sacrifice of personal freedom to achieve dominance, including the aftermath of a failed implementation leading to mutual destruction.

Fundamentally, the two of them saw different parts of this proposal. It's not accurate to say who's right or wrong. If one must find the culprit of this internal conflict, it's the person who came up with this act and used semantic games and information gaps to differentiate the two.

From this logic, there are many ways to address the issue of the Superhero Registration Act leading to an internal conflict.

For instance, serving as a mediator, eliminating the information gap between the two, allowing them to understand each other's pursuits and concerns. This approach could have a high probability of diffusing the conflict, making them sit down and talk. However, the final outcome might still be the implementation of the registration act, just softened, shifting from a left-leaning approach to a more moderate middle ground. The ultimate aim of the act would then transition from expanding authority to maintaining the status quo.

On the surface, this seems like a win-win situation, but in reality, the Superheroes are still taking a step back, and as long as there's a first step, there will be second and third steps.

However, there's actually a simpler approach.

Left and right, just like in the real world, are relative.

Compared to the extreme right that demands complete absence of governmental intervention and promotes oligarchic rule, even those slightly right-leaning individuals who ask the government to focus less on the economy appear extremely left.

Similarly, compared to the radical extreme left represented by Schiller, who advocates total surrender of personal information freedom and subjecting oneself to state control, the entire act seems conservative and right-leaning.

The so-called method to deal with this issue is actually to present the superficial left-leaning nature of the act as being right-leaning when contrasted with the extreme left, aligning the perspectives of Iron Man and Captain America. This eliminates the difference of one focusing on the content while the other on the motive.

Furthermore, due to the comparison, Iron Man, initially slightly left-leaning, and Captain America, moderately right-leaning, both find themselves in the right-wing camp when contrasted with the extreme left represented by Schiller. They naturally fall into one camp.

As long as you're not as left as me, you're all right-wing.

The question is, how can Iron Man and Captain America be more left-leaning than Schiller?

Schiller is no longer left; he's planning to shoulder America, turn left with all his might, and step on the gas pedal...

In other words, accelerate.

Upon hearing Schiller's outrageous plan, Captain America certainly cannot agree. He slams his hand on the table, stands up, and says:

"I disagree! Schiller, you're mad!"

"Captain America..." Schiller sighs, his tone returning to calm, the fervor gone, but a more dangerous aura emerges. He walks away from his table and comes to the center of the field, looking into Steve's eyes as he says:

"Have you participated in so many wars, when you see your comrades wounded, bleeding, dying on the frontlines, do you feel sorrow?"

Steve also steps forward and says, "Of course I do. It's precisely because I don't want my current comrades to suffer the same tragedy that I don't want them to become tools controlled by the government."

"So, ask yourself, would they regret it?"

Steve clenches his jaw and says, "No, of course they wouldn't regret it. They are true steel warriors, shedding blood but not tears. Why would they regret?"

"So, why don't they regret it?"

Steve gazed at Schiller in silence, and Schiller stared back at him. In Schiller's eyes, Steve saw a glint that he found somewhat familiar.

"They don't regret it because they know that when they fight and bleed on the frontlines, they're doing it to protect the ordinary people behind them. They sacrifice themselves for the millions of lives behind them."

"So then, having fought side by side with them, why are you unwilling to sacrifice yourself for the ordinary people behind you?"

"The Registration Act isn't even asking you to bleed and die. It's merely requesting you to share your information and accept supervision. It's only natural."

"Your comrades have given so much, including their most precious lives, just so ordinary people don't get caught in the crossfire..."

"And now, by refusing this act, you're putting ordinary citizens at the constant mercy of sudden outbursts from Superheroes. You haven't regressed the era, but you've regressed in spirit."

"Captain America, you long for that era, but that era might not long for you. Because you're not worthy."

Stark, sitting on the other side, saw the pained expression on Steve's face.

It's difficult to engage in a debate with a psychologist who has once treated you, for they will always wield your past vulnerabilities like a sword. At this moment, words hold more power than fists.

"Enough, Schiller!" Stark walked out from behind the table and said, "I'm not questioning your beliefs, but the method you're proposing is too absurd, something no one could accept."

Schiller also looked into Stark's eyes and said, "It's like a balance, one side being your personal information, the other side being public safety. Do you think your personal information is more important than the lives of ordinary people?"

"I don't think that way." Stark denied, but he still couldn't bring himself to say the words "it's worth considering," which were already on the tip of his tongue.

Schiller's enthusiasm was running too high. If he followed Schiller's words now, the next step would be freeing Washington.

Moreover, did others not know? Didn't he know? Schiller has even gone mad enough to want to resurrect the Soviet Union. Now, with his foot on the gas pedal, he will do whatever it takes to find every reason to press down. Stark must not give Schiller this opportunity.

So, despite Stark's alignment with the ideology of the act, he can't express his agreement now. If he says he agrees, it's like pouring fuel into the tank. Once the fuel is in, if Schiller steps on the gas, Red Skull might just resurrect in North America.

Thus, Stark and Schiller began to debate.

But as is well known, the more extreme the rhetoric, the stronger the aggression, and the better it occupies a favorable position in a debate. Schiller firmly held onto the core left-leaning idea, that everyone should serve the public, all becoming cogs in the national machine to achieve true equality and democracy.

In that case, if Stark still clung to his right-leaning theory, there would be no way he could overcome Schiller. Therefore, he had to lean further and further right, until he reached the far right, to possibly stand against Schiller.

But then the question arises, can Congress accept the far left? Or can they accept the far right?

In fact, they can't accept either.

The far left would mean the imminent revival of Red Skull, while the far right would mean weakening the government's authority to a minimum, allowing economic magnates to dominate. That's not what they want at all.

It's like asking them to choose between two piles of excrement, one smelling worse than the other.

In reality, they just wanted to create a law that would cause internal strife between Superheroes and S.H.I.E.L.D., thereby boosting their own power. How did it suddenly turn into an ideological battle of life and death between them?

But now, Schiller had already shattered the ceiling. The Superheroes present had been drawn into the increasingly intense debate between him and Stark.

Debates among intelligent people often carry strong emotional undertones. The atmosphere had been set for this. If the future direction of the U.S. wasn't decided today, it couldn't possibly end well. At least that's how the observing Superheroes saw it.

But the problem is, Congress doesn't actually want an ideological battle. Everyone knows that once this sort of struggle begins, everyone present, whether leaning left or right, won't escape a terrifying purge.

Finally, one of the congressmen who was presiding over the meeting couldn't take it any longer. He slammed the table and said, "Both sides, calm down! Quiet! Listen to me! Stop!!"

His next words were meant to get both sides to calm down and avoid escalating the situation to an overly extreme level. He was about to use some clichéd words for conflict resolution and announce the end of the meeting.

They could continue another day, excluding this extremist Moon Knight, and then use other reasons to incite Iron Man and Captain America.

But just as he was about to say this, Schiller pointed his finger, and a silver light struck the congressman. Suddenly, he found he couldn't make a sound.

At this moment, he heard Schiller say:

"To prove that I'm not all talk, I'm willing to set an example. I'll first disclose my own true identity and specific abilities to show my commitment to public safety."

As he spoke, the silver on him gradually receded, and even the iron mask over his mouth disappeared. After revealing his face, not many recognized him because he rarely appeared in public. He then introduced himself.

"I know that not many people know me, but I must introduce myself. I'm Schiller Rodriguez, a psychologist. You can find my papers in major journals. Without false modesty, my academic level is quite decent."

"At the same time, I also serve as a psychologist in S.H.I.E.L.D. This one here, Iron Man, received 230 hours of treatment from me, and this one here, Captain America, was scheduled for 130 sessions of treatment by S.H.I.E.L.D., though he only attended less than half of them..."

"As for the others..." Schiller gestured to the Superheroes present. "You should know that pressure is heavy even for Superheroes, and they are all regulars at my place."

By this point, the expressions of everyone below had changed. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s psychologist was far left, and every Superhero present had received his treatment...

Was it treatment or preaching?!

But what Schiller said next truly sent a chill down their spines.

"And my abilities... perhaps you know someone, my special abilities, in terms of type and intensity, are quite similar to his. That someone is—"

"Professor X."

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