Suddenly, a hand grabbed Arthur's wrist. Diana silently shook her head at him, then said, "No, Arthur. This will spark a hot war. Don't give them this chance."
Arthur closed his eyes and sighed. Rationality told him that Diana was right. If he flooded Metropolis now and drowned these damned politicians, it would directly escalate the current conflict and inevitably lead to war.
Under normal circumstances, these factions could set aside their disputes, unite, and attack Atlantis. Although it's challenging for humans to attack the underwater kingdom, Atlantis wouldn't easily flood the land either. After all, there are ancient relic clans like the Amazons on land, and acting recklessly wouldn't end well for them. So ultimately, there would be several rounds of tug-of-war and probing before negotiations.
But now, it's different. The election has reached its most intense point, and everyone is on edge. Whether it's the ruling party or the opposition, they're all close to being driven insane. Stabbing them in the back at this time is like throwing a firecracker into the flames.
Even if they want to wage a war against foreign races, they will certainly "first stabilize the inner before preventing the outer." They have time to maneuver slowly now because there's no external influence. But once there's something urgent to deal with, they need to decide the outcome in a short time, which might force them to take some extreme measures. This could very well lead to a complete rupture between the two parties, eventually sparking a hot war.
A hot war breaking out on American soil, even if it's not a full-scale war and just low-intensity conflict, would certainly result in many deaths. Those living at the bottom of the cities couldn't possibly survive in such a situation. Neither Arthur nor Diana wanted to see that happen.
The key is, they would definitely pin the blame for starting the war on foreign races. This would allow these war-mongering politicians to escape punishment. Neither Arthur nor Diana wanted to give them that chance. If you want to pull, keep pulling, but don't involve us. And don't expect us to take the blame for your extreme actions.
Thinking of the friends and family at Port of Mercy, Arthur finally calmed down, resisting the impulse to drown them all with a wave.
They already knew that it's impossible to get anything out of these people. These people will never reflect or change. Since that's the case, there's no need to waste time with them. Diana took a deep breath, looked at Arthur, and said, "Come with me."
The two of them quickly left through the front door. Diana walked while taking out her phone and said, "Bruce is coming to pick us up."
Half an hour later, they arrived at Wayne Manor. After some brief introductions and a simple recount of their stories, everyone fell silent.
Before, when they saw some horrifying stories, they would wonder whether this country had a future; now, they're more curious about how this country even exists.
Medicine, scientific research, welfare, military, politics... every facet of a nation isn't a shield for its people—it's a set of blades in a giant meat grinder meant to shred everyone into pieces and then eject them out below.
Even more absurd, in every class of this country, from homeless people to the most elite politicians and wealthy, no class is at peace.
Many know the homeless have a terrible life, and those close to homelessness aren't much better off. But perhaps few people know that the middle class and elite in America also live miserably.
Of course, they live much better compared to the homeless. But this is in a vertical comparison. If we compare on a global scale, especially with countries on the same development tier as America, the American middle class is the most miserable.
Asian countries have high pressure, and European countries have rigid class structures. But being middle class in these two regions is much better than in America. Asia, due to its high population density, has lower labor costs and relatively complete infrastructure, allowing access to convenient services and travel; European countries have high social security and welfare, low spending on healthcare and education, with some countries even having genuine free medical care, providing a safety net during major accidents.
The American middle-class life perfectly abandons the advantages of both while inheriting the disadvantages: high pressure while having a rigid class structure; high labor costs while having incomplete facilities; healthcare isn't free, and there's no safety net at all. They've even surpassed both by creating community and class segregation, making middle-class anxiety sky-high, severely impacting their psyche. Whether physically or mentally, once one collapses, they'll immediately fall into the lower class.
So, does the elite fare much better? Not really. Racism and white supremacy create invisible ceilings for all people of color. You'll always be stopped from moving up, but you still have to bear all the costs of living in the upper-middle class, leaving you with no room to resist; you must do what others say.
So, are white people much better off? Not at all. Countless different groups can be divided by gender and sexual orientation, leaving you feeling lonely no matter where you stand, never finding like-minded people. You have to do everything you can to socialize and maintain relationships, or you'll fall just the same. So, you'll still have to do things you don't want to do.
Someone might think that reaching the pinnacle, entering the White House, or rising to the top of the Forbes list, becoming a holder of world-class power and wealth, would make everything smooth sailing, right?
Sorry, that's not possible either. The entire nation, through its social atmosphere, completely denies top figures the possibility of having a harmonious and perfect family. You may be extraordinary, but your sons, daughters, or friends are bound to encounter problems. Decades of nurturing them can be ruined overnight, forcing you to tirelessly rush to solve issues, giving you emotional and financial blows.
Don't even mention the constant vigilance required amidst the Dark Forest Theory and the intense environment of mutual harm, where every moment one must guard against various opponents. A slight misstep could lead to sudden death, even for the most elite. These top-tier rich individuals truly face enormous survival pressure, not just complaining without reason. They sometimes express bizarre statements like mentally ill patients, which psychologically speaking, might be a cry for help.
In short, the dense blades of this massive metaphorical meat grinder ensure that every person from every class will lose a piece of flesh, merely differing in size. It's as if the mission of the national machinery is to equally torment everyone.
Some will argue this is the downside of capitalism. However, America can hardly be called capitalist. If it sincerely practiced capitalism, it wouldn't be in the current state.
The core logic of capitalism is the free market. Yet America lacks a true free market. Excessive competitive chaos among various forces leads to systemic imbalance, disrupting capital operation, ultimately thwarting the pursuit of profit. All sides end up losing, resulting in complete futility.
Consequently, a rundown train carries this massive meat grinder, recklessly barreling along a completely uncontrollable track, as though the purpose of this complex entity is to showcase sociological traps to the human race. You can find every conceivable sociological pitfall here.
Someone might ask again: if it's already so bad, why is it still so strong?
In fact, Gotham closely resembles America: chaotic and evil, like an oversized psychiatric hospital. Yet, from a sociological standpoint, this society is surprisingly healthy.
To use a human body analogy, it's like a young individual with a very fast metabolic rate. Though it fails to distinguish between useful nutrients and useless waste, discarding everything indiscriminately, as long as elimination is fast enough, many threats to social equilibrium won't occur.
Furthermore, because the blades of this meat grinder are indiscriminately directed at everyone, denying anyone comfort, a strange balance is achieved; the turnover rate of upper and lower classes is actually the same.
You might think that homeless people change every two days; in politics, the power turnover speed is similar; in science, technological talent elimination is equally rapid; the rate of bankruptcy among pharmaceutical companies in the medical field is quite brisk; in the insurance industry, companies failing to pay inevitably close down daily. In this war, there are no winners, everyone loses, paradoxically creating more space for what remains.
Thus, it becomes this cycle: various industries equally collapse in size, systematically eliminating a group of people, then bringing up another, only to eliminate them again, maintaining a somewhat adequate space for survival.
A healthy society does not necessarily mean healthy humans, as these are two distinct concepts. So even though everyone endures equal systemic torment, society can still maintain stability, existing in a flawed yet healthy manner.
No sociologist can provide a perfect explanation for this phenomenon. That's why Gotham is deemed the American analogy, an editor's explanation almost inescapable, attributing this phenomenon to a "dark curse," reflecting America's folk tales of the "Indian curse."
During the silent contemplation, everyone wondered: does such a society need saving? Even if it does, is it really salvageable?
What's intriguing about this society is that murder has no use.
The speed of killing doesn't necessarily surpass the rotation speed of the meat grinder. You could kill all the politicians in the Capitol Building, and a new batch would immediately rise; the status quo remains unchanged, as they are already accustomed to it.
Kill all the troublesome military personnel, and young officers quickly take over; the unethical behavior continues, not because they are bad or archaic, but under such systemic inertia, they can only act inhumanely, or else they themselves perish.
Reform the medical or insurance industry, bankrupt companies refusing to compensate, and new ones seize the market, fixing terms as before, no compensation still applies. Benevolence leads to one's demise.
Unless you obliterate the entirety of America, empty the American Continent, killing more individuals achieves nothing. The inescapable inertia of society reverts everything to the origin point. This slaughter merely burdens one with futility of change.
After contemplation, everyone concluded that total slaughter or complete salvation is implausible; at least they cannot achieve it. So, is it possible to incrementally improve this society?
If scoring a hundred isn't feasible, sixty suffices. After all, going from a mere six to a passing score represents significant incremental improvement.