Super Responsibilities

Share

Many if not all of the young people in my generation and those close to it by virtue of when their birthday falls know about superheroes. During the last few years, Hollywood has capitalized on this knowledge and interest to make blockbuster and lackluster films about people such as Superman, Spider Man, the Green Lantern, the Green Hornet, and the Hornet Lantern, if that exists, and made up new ones like the Incredibles. They are stories that reach us in one obvious way and in one subconscious way that sometimes goes right over the audience's head.

We consider some of these figures heroes because they used the powers with which they were imbued to the betterment of the lives of people around them. Sometimes there is a clash of character or a moment of choice, but the story usually redeems them through some selfless act near the terminus of the film (even Darth Vader). Frequently, they do this without any concern with what's in it for them, and sometimes at great personal cost, financially, ecumenically, socially, or physically. Who can forget how Bruce Wayne forfeits his fortune, or how Spider Man loses his best friend because he kills the father or how Superman was rescued from drowning by Lex Luther's female social secretary? We remember them because they used their powers for good.

Too many of us are like the supervillains and use our powers to serve our own ends. "What? How can that be?" you say. "I'm not trying to take over the world, amass riches, start wars, etc." Yet, that's exactly what we're doing, on a micro scale as it were. Some among us want the world to adopt our opinions and attitudes, forcing it through legislation and judication. Some of us leverage the system to make money at the expense of our neighbors. Some of us pick fights of varying duration, whether it's at the Thanksgiving table or outright family fueds, because we're concerned with one-upmanship. We use great powers, whether physical, intellectual, financial, or social, to elevate ourselves at the expense of our neighbors and then pat ourselves on the back because we're not AS evil as Lex Luther.

All around us, this new class of supervillain clamours for new rights. They fight the rest of us in an effort to establish their own special privileges at the expense of the majority and morality. With great power comes great responsibility. Any group formed of humans is only as good as the average character of the persons of whom it is comprised. So, we see men with great fortunes, high virility, high influence, and superior intellect establish hegemony over others and abuse them. By this, men of means bring other men low and become richer, men of stamina sire bastards without intending to care for them, men of influence ruin other's lives or reputations by their influence, and men of learning fail students as a means to prove they are smart. I find it grossly repugnant that so many unscrupulous people abuse their sacred power to procreate as a form of recreation and then abandon their responsibilities for their actions, leaving other moral men to pay the piper. I have been saying since before UK PM Cameron did that we hear a lot of talk about rights without the attendant responsibilities,

I find it somewhat ironic that many of the people who do this clamouring are those who fear abuse by one side as they perpetrate abuses against that side they fear. Irrationally, they are afraid of things other men *might* do and use that as an excuse to commit crimes against them. The new meme has become "Do unto others before they do unto you", forgetting that even an eye for an eye renders the entire world blind. It is never a good idea to swing the door completely open the opposite way as a means to shut it.

We have great powers. Some of us have all, and some have only a few. Some of us are wise enough not to abuse them. Some of us are otherwise. The wisest among us lift where they stand, putting to use those gifts given them in a way that elevates others around them. This is why I love and respect my parents. Today, my dad is using his talent with wood to help a neighbor and his talent with cars to fix my brother's car. I doubt very much that my dad will be compensated in any way or even ask for it. It's who he is. My mom is headed next weekend to help at the cannery even though she's not getting any goods, and a few weeks after that she's driving my grandparents to my cousin's graduation. She won't ask for or expect remuneration. It's what they do.

Each of you have your superheroes. They are people you admire. They are people to whom you sometimes compare yourself. Sometimes, they are what you desire to be. Sometimes, you are actually acting more like super villains. Choose carefully whom you choose to emulate. Choose carefully how you use the talents, abilities, and advantages given you. With great power comes great accountability, and in the final reckoning, when we stand in final Judgment, I do not think God will ask us many questions. He will already know if we love Him because of how many of His children we served voluntarily and secretly in His name, just like the superheroes you admire. Then, and perhaps ONLY then, the Lord who seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.