Why The World Doesn t Need Superman

- By Lois Lane
Metropolis. For five long years the world has stared into the sky, waiting, hopi
ng and praying for his return. We ve spent our days asking where he went, debating
why he left and wondered is he even alive. Perhaps he left us for another world
, a world in peril, a world in greater need of a saviour. Is it selfish desire h
im for ourselves? Are we expected to share the man we ve come to love or did we do
something wrong?
Did we take him for granted? Perhaps we did. Maybe we all did, it's not our faul
t. We are far from super. Yet a mother will accept her children regardless of th
eir misfortunes. Why have you rejected us for ours? Perhaps we re a lost cause unw
orthy of help and doomed to continue on a path of self-destruction. He has moved
on, helping others with a foreseeable future of peace and harmony.
From the first day he mysteriously appeared we were enamoured. He seemed too goo
d to be true. A man who could fly, see through walls, bend steel with his bare h
ands. A man who never lied. A man who could do anything he wanted to yet he chos
e to be a hero. He chose to fight for truth, justice and the American way, And w
e chose to believe. we put our faith, not in the hands of God, but in the hands
of another Lives were not saved by any kind of divine intervention, miracle or a
ct of God. they were saved by one man, and one man only, our Superman. We didn t q
uestion his intentions and other than a few basic facts we didn't question his u
nbelievable origins. When did he actually arrive? Where did he live? Where did h
e get that suit? It didn't matter. He was good, and good for us and that was eno
ugh.
A new generation of children have grown up idolising this hero, proud to wear a
cape and run around the family home. We welcome Superman into our homes and fami
ly. He was a quintessential American. A role model for our children and the guar
dian of their lives. Does a hero walk out on his family? Walk away from his chil
dren? After letting us place our hopes on him, his disappearance must be seen no
thing short of abandonment. A dereliction of duty. No better that a parent aband
oning a child, a doctor walking out on their patient. We must ask our selves if
Superman returned would we welcome him back? Could he heal the scars he left beh
ind? The city is in pain, its citizens angry, hurt and unforgiving. We have lear
ned from our bad judgement, and we are not prepared to make the same mistake aga
in.
It would take more than one man to reunite the people. He is lost our trust, he
betrayed us. He turned his us back on us and walked away. We would have to quest
ion his motives for his return. Why after all this time he would return? From th
e very beginning we labelled him as a man. We even used the word it his titled -
Superman.
Yet he was not a man. He was not even human. We expected an alien to share the s
ame feelings, emotions, beliefs and principles. Were the words truth and justice
a second language to him? Perhaps, we were fools to believe he would understand
the true meaning of words such as trust, loyalty or love.
What is a hero anyway? Does one has to have superpowers, special abilities or in
credible talent to be a considerable one? Well that's what we ve been led to belie
ve. Superman led us to forget our real heroes. What happened to the firemen, pol
icemen, teachers, social workers or local figure that used to be considered a he
ro in our communities?
Each and every day of the year, firemen come to the rescue of those in need. The
y are brave woman and men who serve communities with courage and uncompromising
devotion to humanity. These people are not just doing their job, they are the he
roes who take each task to heart and each life saved is a victory for their team
. Because of their selfless bravery and heroism, many fire-fighters sacrifice th
eir own lives to save others every day. Their actions will never been forgotten.
In cities, towns and villages around the world, legions of teachers spend every
day protecting the minds, souls and spirits of children. They commit their lives
to the development of the world s most precious resource. A child's mind thirsts
for knowledge. It is this knowledge, the knowledge imparted to the youth that ha
s given rise to the great man and women of history. Knowledge gave birth civilis
ations and is the foundation of nations including America. Teachers strive daily
with little recognition to help each child become the best they can. Teachers a
re heroes, our future lies in their hands. These are examples of every day men a
nd women. Men and women who are heroes.
Superman was not just a hero. Superman was a superhero. Why isn t he living up to
his name? He was so much more that a mere mortal. Imagine a future with this sup
erhero. A future that was stolen from us. The world welcomed Superman with open
arms and why wouldn't we? Day after day we saw the effect he was having. Crime p
lummeted, natural disasters were prevented, the impossible became possible. What
was more remarkable and often overlooked, was that he wasn't just saving people
s lives, he was changing them.
He gave us hope, he set an example and over the years we started following that
example whether we realised it or not. Wars stopped, all political, religious fe
uds set aside, even volunteering and charitable donations increased. For the fir
st time in history we saw the closest thing mankind could call peace. And to thi
nk it took an alien to show us what it meant to be human. Unfortunately the one
thing that reduces a miracle to the mundane is a world full of them. Once everyt
hing is special, nothing is special. In a world where he would suddenly appear t
o save someone from a fire or divert a flood, there were no miracles. We stopped
looking both ways to cross the street. We didn't have to because if a car was a
bout to hit us odds were that he would zip at the last moment and save us. Soon
we didn't even remember how to look both ways. We lost our survival instincts. W
e became careless, which wouldn't have really been a problem, but then he left.
Just as mysteriously he appeared he was gone, without warning, without explanati
on. We looked to the sky and for the first time in years no one was there. Some
panicked thinking the worst had finally come to pass and someone has finally dis
cover a weakness and exploited it. Others held steadfast believing that his sudd
en absence must have a logical explanation. Perhaps this was a test. Maybe he wa
s watching from above and gauging our reaction. Hundreds, if not thousands of id
eas and theories sprang from every expert and government official but no answer
could satisfy us. Maybe there was no answer. Maybe he s just gone.
In fact maybe it s better that he is gone. How can we be expected to appreciate th
e good without the bad? Through suffering do we not gain strength? Having relied
on an almost omnipotent saviour for years, we ve forgotten how to rely on ourselv
es. He gave us strength, but with it, weakness. In his absence, we must learn to
unite and find strength in one another. We must look not to the skies, instead
we must look inside ourselves to find trust, love and friendship for one another
. Peace is our champion, not a Man of Steel. Alas crime has skyrocketed, stocks
plummeted and old wars have been rekindled. The peace he inspired over the years
, seemed to end overnight, replaced by fear,, confusion and betrayal. Even worse
problems once held by our own, now seem insurmountable without his help.
It is one year today that we witnessed one of the worst train disaster in recent
history. Among the 236 dead, were 28 school children and a pregnant mother. The
nation's press release said that all that was left was a mangled mess of metal
and bodies. Recovery workers and civilians united and worked around the clock, i
n the hope of finding just one survivor, if any. But hope was given up, when 12
hours later they could raise no sound. The train left a huge gorge in the suburb
an landscape where now stands a tribute to those who died in the wreckage. Among
those attending today s memorial service, is the husband and father of a deceased
mother and their unborn child. To this day he is haunted by the memories of the
past. Through his suffering he speaks the voice of many Americans: How could he
let this happen? Curse you Superman...
These words echo amongst the people, reaching the far corners of the globe. In f
ive years we have seen the oceans rise and kill hundreds of thousands of innocen
t men, women and children throughout Asia. We have seen civil wars destroy citie
s throughout the world and religious feuds wipe our nations. Let the colour of S
uperman s cape remind us of the innocent people who have died for it is their bloo
d that is on his hands.
In the past we have turned to God, in times of need we prayed. For five years we
have prayed for you Superman, please bring back our Messiah. The nation knelt bef
ore the alter and begged for your return. We were blinded by your arrival, our f
aith misguided. For many of us, Superman became our God. We only had to read the
motto on our nations currency to be reminded of the truth In God We Trust.
These words passed between our hands countless times a day, yet we still managed
to forget. We put our trust, not in God, but in Superman In Superman We Trust.
We trusted you, we all trusted you I trusted you. Does he feel remorse, guilt or s
hame? Does he simply not care? Perhaps the people of Earth are but a distant mem
ory, a single snapshot lost in a mind that is timeless.
Does he cry for the children who have died on his watch? Perhaps he really is a
Man of Steel cold, emotionless and hardened by his own immortality. Would he say
sorry?
Ultimately we are better off without him. It is true, we will come to endure har
dship in his absence. We will see more famine, environmental disasters, crime, w
ars and bloodshed. But what is also true, is that the people of America will alw
ays, without falter, and without abandoning their posts, continue to strive for
truth, justice and the American way.
Leaving the fate of humanity in the hands of one man would have been a terrible
mistake. If we don t learn to settle our grievances on our own we are doomed anywa
y. We became dependent on someone unreliable, in fact he did us a favour by leav
ing. Now we can learn to fend for ourselves, learn to work out our differences r
egardless of whether they are based on race, creed, gender or political view.
Ultimately we will unite and establish peace around the globe. If Superman had s
tayed we would never accomplish this. Under the surface there would have remaine
d traces of a corrupt society, a seed that would grow if it wasn t for Superman s ca
pe blocking the sunlight. Now that he is gone, the seed is left to grow, yet the
re is hope. For like a rose, we always see the thorns before the flower. We will
blossom and when we do, we will have done it alone, we will have a world united
.
People have always longed for God, messiahs and saviours to swoop down from the
sky and deliver them from their troubles but in the end these saviours always le
ave and we are faced with the same troubles that were here from the beginning. W
e wait for our saviour s return though it will never happen and we realise it was
better had he never come at all.