Where Are All the Superheroes? 
Yesterday, as my family and I taxied our way down Broadway on our way to Penn Station, we were fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of Spider Man posing for pictures -- even taking time to wave as our family collectively yelled his name. My kids were thrilled. There he was in the flesh -- the 'real' Spider Man -- not the 'fake' one we've seen in the cartoons.My heart broke as I imagined the day when the innocence and wonder of my still young children would be dashed on the rocks of reality. How do I tell them there is no such thing as superheroes? No Wolverine. No Hulk. No Teen Titans. No Spiderman. Nothing.
And as I reflected, I realized something additionally disturbing -- a realization that, in a way, perpetuated a further loss of my own innocence and wonder.
I thought... Though we dream of the existence of 'real' superheroes -- the kind that comes to our rescue in our most desperate moments... the kind that obliterates the enemy...the kind that protects our world selflessly and unerringly from the devastation surely to be wrought by any self-respecting supervillain given the chance -- they simply don't exist. No surprise there, but now comes the disturbing part... the supervillains, from whom the superheroes are supposed to protect us, are real. VERY real.
Worse they are abundant and unchecked. They are malevolent, uncaring, selfish, greedy, willful, indiscriminant, and sadistic. And they are at the pinnacle of political power across the globe.
These resources allow reality's villains to control the fate of humanity.
They plot and mislead to manipulate the public mind.
They incite war without presence of truth.
They claim 'divine authority' to dupe millions to their bidding.
They sacrifice the planet and the poor for petty, short-term personal gain.
They dismiss and downplay the importance of anything not to their personal benefit.
They maim.
They corrupt.
They destroy.
Nary a villain of comic book infamy could surpass their darkness of heart and mind.
So where are the superheroes?
Where are they who could counter such evil? None come to mind, and that is truly frightening.
Is the world really so designed that it nurtures the development and provides for the existence of real supervillains, but not real superheroes?
If that's not the case, then where is our Superman? Where is our Wonder Woman? Why are there so many supervillans and no superheroes?
So, as the 'comic book' Spiderman outs himself as a 'human weapon of mass destruction', we are brought to the frightening prospect of reality that superheroes will remain helplessly confined to our imagination while 'real world' supervillains invoke genuine mass destruction across our land, throughout our communities, and into our homes.
Where are you?
KEYWORDS: Superheroes, Villains, Bush Administration
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