Truth, Justice, and the American Way Still Matters
We have to make the choice to pick ourselves up and challenge this country to live up to its highest ideals.
Last week, the teaser trailer for James Gunn’s upcoming Superman was released. The teaser opens with this image of a bloody and battered Superman, an American icon dedicated to truth and justice. This image struck me as wildly appropriate. The mind doesn’t need to work too hard to see Superman in this condition and think that it mirrors the state of our country at the moment. (I personally find the image even more resonant given that Superman’s arch-enemy is an egomaniacal billionaire.)
The reason why I love Superman is that he is the most powerful person on the planet, and yet, the greatest power he possesses is his moral compass. He has the power to rule, but chooses to serve. He is an alien, but represents the best of humanity. He is not indifferent to people; he cares deeply about every single person.
Some think his power makes him boring. Others think his Boy Scout nature is uninteresting. I think this is a complete misread of the character. He has made the choice to be this person. It would be far easier for him to use all his power and do whatever he wants to do. Instead, he chooses to stand for truth, justice, and the American way.
This is unlike another omnipotent comic book character, Doctor Manhattan from the seminal graphic novel Watchmen. His incredible powers have made him cold and indifferent to humanity. The entire conceit of the mini-series Doomsday Clock is what would happen if the world of Superman and the world of Doctor Manhattan collided.
I don’t want to spoil it, but the crux of their confrontation can be seen below.
From his first appearance in 1938, Superman has been intertwined with the United States. I have seen Richard Donner’s Superman from 1978 more times than I count. However, it wasn’t until recently that I realized that the film was profoundly impacted by the decade in which it was released.
I was born in 1982, and I have just dipped my toe in the waters of learning about the 1970s. I knew that it was the decade of disco, bell bottoms, Watergate, and Vietnam. What I didn’t know was that it isn’t even the tip of the iceberg. The decade was absolutely nuts with all sorts of ugliness and absurdity.
Anyway, what I’ve learned has made me love this film even more. The little political jokes pack more bite. At the same time, the exchange between the warden and Superman hits harder:
Warden: This country is safe again, Superman, thanks to you.
Superman: No, sir. Don't thank me, Warden. We're all part of the same team. Good night.
I can see the exchange really hitting with the audience. It’s not hard for me to imagine the relief the audience must have felt at the notion that somebody like Superman would have represented. More importantly, Superman saying that “we are all part of the same team” might have lifted spirits. I mean, this movie was a huge hit, so maybe that was the case.
Within that context, I believe that it would be a mistake to assume that Superman and the patriotic imagery are some cheap jingoistic message. I believe that Donner, Reeve, and the others making that film were pushing the United States to be a better version than what they were seeing outside of the movie theaters in which the film was screening.
Similarly, I don’t think patriotism is some simple and childish adoration for our country. I believe that true patriotism is looking at the United States, being honest about our shortcomings, celebrating our strengths, and challenging ourselves to close the gaps between them.
When you look at the founding of the United States of America from the jump, you see incredible hypocrisy. The Founding Fathers wrote “all are created equal” while owning slaves. The distance between our highest ideals and our lowest actions was wide from the beginning.
What has made America great is that each generation has made the decision to close the gap. It has not been easy; change takes longer than any of us want, and sometimes it comes at great costs. Every American living today is the beneficiary of the ones that came before us that made the choice to do the work to close that gap.
Some might look at the hypocrisy that has existed from our founding and become cynical. We don’t remember those people. We remember and celebrate those that dared us to live up to the ideals upon which we were founded. Those that made the choice to form a more perfect union.
Maybe we are a bit bruised and battered right now. We still have a choice to make. Are we going to take up the cause to narrow the gap between who we want to be and who we are? Are we going to do the hard work of forming a more perfect union to hand off to the next generation? Or are we going to give up, become cynical, and forgotten?
It would be easy to give up. To harden our heart. To shrug and turn away. But what good will that do?
No, instead let’s make the choice to dust ourselves off and get back to work. Except, rather than looking to the sky for some hero in blue, let’s look to one another, as we work for truth, justice, and the American way.