Musing on Superman

I was thinking about Superman on the drive in to work this morning, and it occurred to me that Barack Obama seems to have the same failing as everyone's favourite Kryptonian superhero.*

The problem is the comic book adage: Truth, Justice and the American Way. It's all well and good to be in favour of those things, but the fact of the matter is that Western culture, or "the American Way", if you will, is founded on the concepts of Deception, Abuse of Power and Acquisitiveness.

Similarly, Obama's slogan "Change you can believe in" becomes "as much of the status quo as required to keep the lobbyists from pulling their funding."

It's sad, and something that my lovely wife and I talk about on a regular basis, as we're both disenchanted by the current state of discourse and lack of trustworthy government. Unfortunately, we also lack the wherewithal required to successfully run for office.

So the question becomes: what can I do to make the world a better place? How do I emulate Superman in my everyday life?*

So I'm starting with my own acquisitiveness. I've decided that I no longer need to receive gifts at gift-giving holidays. I have the financial wherewithal to have pretty much anything I want, or at least anything that I could reasonably expect for a birthday or Christmas gift. So I mentioned to my wife that anyone asking her for gift ideas for my upcoming birthday should be told to donate to a worthy cause whatever they were going to spend on my gift.

I'm not intending to be a jerk about it, or try to make people feel guilty that buy me stuff. ("Thanks for the sweater, Mom. I'll send it to a starving child in Africa.") But anyone who asks, I'll tell them that I don't need anything, and a donation in my name is what I want.

Hopefully, this starts a trend in my immediate circle of family and friends that spreads outward.




*(I was going to make a "suck it!" joke to the other Kryptonian superheros, but they're both female, so it doesn't really work without being creepy. Sadly, "in your face!" has the same effect.)