I recently took my children and one of their friends to see Avengers: Infinity War. (WARNING: movie spoilers ahead!) As a kid I was a fan of the superhero universe -- Marvel and D.C. (remember these guys?) -- and I’ve passed that interest on to my children. We’ve seen most of the Marvel and D.C. films. (Note to the studios: we will never attend the R-rated crap!) In spite of a wide array of characters with varying story lines, Marvel Studios has done a good job of weaving a common thread throughout multiple films in order to bring most of their characters together in Avengers: Infinity War.

This effort has proven to be wildly successful as Infinity War just had the biggest opening weekend of all time. When we got to the point in the film where the plot -- and the motives for the plot -- were made clear, the thought occurred to me that those watching who are corrupted by a liberal worldview had to be conflicted, or at least confused.

Thanos -- the chief antagonist of the film -- is, of course, a murderous thug (who looks like the love-child of Barney the Dinosaur and King Kong). He has tremendous power and is bent on having things his way. And “his way” means killing off half of the universe. As the film makes clear, he is motivated to do such in order to bring “balance” to what he sees as an overpopulated universe.

Sounding much like a member of the modern left and declaring that a planet’s -- and the universe’s -- resources are “finite,” Thanos sees himself not as a warrior or a conqueror, but as an agent of mercy -- even a “savior.” He merely seeks “balance” so that we can all live happily ever after. So what if he has to murder billions in the process?

Several writers have already tackled the irony of a bunch of Hollywood leftists casting as a villain a Hulk-like being obsessed with fixing the “problem” of overpopulation. Whether championing the “right” to kill children in the womb, promoting the ever-imminent -- but never realized -- threat from “climate change,” and so on, the modern left has long used the myth of overpopulation to further their efforts at getting what they really want: power. If only they had the “Infinity Stones.”

The so-called “Infinity Stones” are the common thread skillfully woven throughout many of the previous Marvel films. There are six of these stones, with each giving its owner a unique and tremendous power. As explained in Guardians of the Galaxy, “[B]efore the universe first began, there were six singularities. These six singularities were then condensed into concentrated ingots. Whoever controls all six stones and wields them using the Infinity Gauntlet has the power to reshape reality.”

In other words, if one possesses all of the stones -- Thanos’ goal in Infinity Wars -- then one gains “omnipotence and omniscience.” At the end of Infinity Wars Thanos has all of the stones. He merely snaps his fingers and his plan for population control takes effect. Viewers watch as close to half of the Avengers heroes -- along with half of the rest of humanity -- are dissolved into ash (think of Lot’s wife turning into a pillar of salt).

Whether big government liberalism, socialism, communism, or otherwise, modern leftists have long lusted for the power to “reshape” the world into their perverse version of “reality,” and a mere snap of their fingers would suit them just fine. We have seen a taste of this in the real world. The electoral process has often proven too slow or unreliable for today’s liberals, thus the judicial or executive equivalent of a finger snap has often given American liberals exactly what they wanted.

Everything from abortion to same-sex “marriage,” immigration policy (DACA), environmental policy (e.g., Obama’s war on coal, war on oil, etc. -- thanks to his “pen and phone”), perverse gender edicts, dangerous military edicts (based on an ignorant and perverse view of gender), and the like, have been achieved via some political “snap of a finger.” Whatever the excuse -- overpopulation, global warming, sexual “rights,” gun control, health care, “hate” speech, “income inequality,” and so on -- liberals look for most any opportunity to gain the power necessary to usher in “utopia.” If only they had the Infinity Stones.

Of course, the real-world equivalent of the Infinity Stones is totalitarianism, and far too many of today’s American left are far too comfortable with an all-powerful state led by those who are “wise in their own eyes” and devoted to the “theology of self.” Of course, those liberals seeking to win an election in the U.S. will never (yet) admit this, but if you watch and listen closely enough, you will hear the little totalitarians reveal themselves. Leftist politicians, pundits, and sheeple alike have given strong clues that oftentimes, they would just rather not bother with democracy, much less our Constitution. If only they had the Infinity Stones.

This is particularly true when devoted leftists in the media and on campuses feel threatened by information and ideas (read: the truth) -- from the likes of the “thought outlaws” who operate in the “Intellectual Dark Web” -- that they don’t like. It has become commonplace for these agitprop provocateurs of the American left to encourage and actually employ violence, threaten careers, and otherwise advocate for censorship when it comes to anything that threatens the tenets of modern liberalism. If only they had the Infinity Stones.

Whether to silence man-made climate change skeptics or pro-lifers, punish Christians, grab guns, or even reverse a presidential election, Democratic politicians -- where they still have power in the U.S. -- have displayed a stunning penchant for totalitarianism. Remember when a cadre of Democratic attorneys general -- including the now infamous Eric Schneiderman -- stood with Al Gore and threatened -- via “investigations” -- “climate deniers?”

Remember when California passed a law that forced pro-life pregnancy centers to promote abortion? (The case challenging this “law” was just heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.) In addition, California wants to outlaw leaving the homosexual lifestyle (via the infamous “You Must Stay Gay” bill) and thus criminalize the Bible. So that their attempts at implementing their totalitarian dreams is much easier, liberals want to criminalize guns, thus the 2^nd Amendment has got to go. If only they had the Infinity Stones.

Ironically, few things make a modern liberal squeal louder than the notion that there is an Absolute Power to which we all will eventually have to give an account. Almost certainly -- if possible -- they would snap their fingers and make Him disappear as well. Thank God there’s no such thing as Infinity Stones.

Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com