In addition to being entertained by the author's great wit, you also come away with the understanding of just how huge a task it would be for anyone, or anything, to be able to actually destroy the Earth.
Oh sure, we can certainly ruin it by exploding nuclear weapons, polluting the surface, and generally making the Earth uninhabitable for living organisms, but to truly destroy the entire planet so that when intergalactic visitors drop by they find nothing in its place is a bit more difficult.
The great thing about an intellectual exercise in the absurd is that it can spark the imagination and maybe even cause us to think of things we ordinarily would not have thought about.
Take a gander at science fiction shows. It seems many folks either love them or hate them, when all the dust settles, the reality is that much of our current science has originated in the world of science fiction. That's right, those geeks that think up things like space travel, wireless communicators that flip open, huge thinking machines, and cooking food faster then using fire, are the true fathers of our scientific achievements.
Young children today that are watching science fiction shows will one day become scientists and inventors, and they will remember what they saw as they were growing up.
Imagine a world with clean energy, instant global communication without carrying around a cell phone, security in our homes, cars and businesses that require no card readers or passwords, traveling anyplace in the world instantaneously, or traveling to Mars in a day!
Many of these things are being worked on right now. Some are close to being accomplished, others have a way to go. It seems that the human intelligence is capable of turning science fiction into science reality within a very short time. I wonder, given enough time, if there is anything we can't do.
Future discoveries are being talked about in elementary schools right now with comments like, "Wouldn't it be cool if we could
So I submit to all of you people who view television and movies as an evil box that is sucking the intelligence out of our children. Where would we be without the entertainment of science fiction?
In addition to kicking your children out of the house to play and get their physical exercise, don't forget to turn on a little of the science fiction as well. Let them watch "Star Wars", "Star Trek", and "The Last Starfighter", or perhaps you can toss in some "Batteries Not Included" and "Buckaroo Banzai" for fun. Who knows, one day your carpet muncher may one day be the inventor of the holodeck.
Don't know what a holodeck is? It may not be too late for you. Go buy the "Star Trek - The Next Generation" series and start your education now, before little Timothy grows up to be just another mindless dolt in a bar that was ruined by their over-protective parents trying to shield them from the evil world of science fiction.
Come on! Open your mind, and the minds of your children before it's too late.