The G-Word

The administrators of Foothill High School, in Las Vegas, advised by the American Civil Liberties Union, silenced the microphone of their valedictorian. This clear act of censorship, endorsed by the supposed defenders of civil liberties, came not because Ms. Brittany McComb (the valedictorian in question), was inciting a riot, or even publishing government secrets. She was committing the unpardonable sin of praising God.

The logic, such as it is, goes something like this: (1) our Constitution prohibits the establishment of religion; (2) a high-school graduation ceremony is sponsored by the school; (3) the school is sponsored by the state; (4) a speaker at the ceremony may be seen as speaking for the school (and the state); (5) any mention of God, Jesus Christ or any Judeo-Christian person or symbol is the establishment of a religion, so therefore, (6) no speaker at a high school graduation may use the words or refer to God, Jesus or any testament of faith.

For the uninitiated, (4) and (5) seem to be huge assumptions with no basis in fact. For the federal judiciary and the ACLU, it's just business as usual. The Supreme Court and the federal judiciary, aided by the ACLU, have not only endorsed censorship, but have necessarily assumed a defective intellect in the American public to the extent that we cannot be trusted to distinguish between a highschool student and the Governor of the State of Nevada.

The fact that no rational person in the audience could believe Ms. McComb was speaking for the school, much less the Governor of the State, has no bearing in the reality-detached minds of these misguided attorneys. It is a sad State, literally and figuratively, when a speaker, who earned the right through years of study and hard work, is silenced because the government does not want her voice heard. There is no way to call that anything but censorship.

Superman Does Not Stand for Etcetera

In his review of the documentary, Superman Returns, Newsweek's David Ansen can't bring himself to say that Superman stands for truth, justice and the American way:

In "Superman Returns" (written by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris from a story they cooked up with Singer), the caped crusader for truth, justice, etc. (Brandon Routh) returns to crime-ridden Earth after a five-year detour amid the remains of his home planet. [emphasis mine].

Etc. stands for etcetera, which is latin for "and the rest." Webster's Dictionary defines the term to mean "and other unspecified things of the same class; and so forth." Etcetera is a catchall that adds nothing to a sentence but the vague allusion to lesser things, which the author cannot be bothered to enumerate. The American Way is not an etcetera, Mr. Ansen.

Superman does not risk his life saving "Truth, Justice and other unspecified things" and America is too great a nation to be relegated to miscellany.

Sure, it's not perfect here. America has blotches and scars, just as any other culture. We eat too much. We idolize celebrity too much. We spend too much and save too little. We let the government get away with unconscionable neglect and malfeasance. We have a history of compassion punctuated with violence. But find a culture that is better than ours. Living or dead. The Greeks and Romans? Think slavery. Think greedy conquest by legions of conscripted farmers. Think vomitoriums.

If you're not convinced, imagine what would become of a man of infinite power who grew up in Cuba or North Korea. How long do you think your world would continue to exist as it is at the mercy of an omnipotent superman who thought, as socialists, communists, islamofacists and their ilk do-that might makes right; that governments are instituted to enslave mankind; that taxes are owed to those with the power to collect them?

Instead, Superman was raised in a nation of laws; where governments are instituted among men by the consent of the governed; and where taxes are a burden borne with patriotic reluctance, not blind obedience. That is what makes him Superman. Not his powers, not his ancestry, but how he uses them.

He is an American and, I have it on good authority, he is proud of it. Superman is not a shared resource, he is a product of our culture, no one else's. He cannot to be claimed by any other culture or country.

Superman is the symbol of everything that is good in America. He is our industry, our courage and our valor. He is the sacrificial kindness that gives aid to people who wish us ill. He is the selfless courage and restrained power of our military, who have freed continents for nothing more than a soldier's ration. He is the industrious mind, that sees things not just how they are, but how they should be-and works to close the gap. He is the love that propels mortal men into an inferno to save strangers, armed with nothing more than a helmet and a firehose. He is the mother's love that sacrifices her ambition for the welfare of her children. In short, Mr. Ansen, Superman stands for Truth, Justice and the American Way.

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Update: 6/30/06

Apparently, Mr. White has gone a bit global in his old age as well.

Spiderman Reveals His Identity

Daily Planet
Metropolis, June 14, 2006.
Opinion by C. Kent.

Another super hero came out in favor of the Super-Human Registration Act today as Peter Parker of the Daily Bugle announced that he was in fact, Spiderman. The announcement shocked New York, our sister city to the North.

I don't pretend to know what it is like to be a super hero; I am a humble country boy from Kansas. I do know Peter Parker, though. He was a great photojournalist and, whatever his reasons for revealing his identity, I trust he realizes what this revelation will do to his career and his personal life.

His revelation will undoubtedly place at risk his friends and family. Ever since the appearance of super villains, a secret identity has been necessary to prevent the exploitation of loved ones to coerce the super hero to do the villain's bidding. I would hate to think what I could be made to do if someone held my partner, Lois, for ransom. This remains a significant threat, and I hope Mr. Parker and his wife, Mary Jane, are able to cope with all that may come. I expect they can rely on Superman and other members of the super hero community if he should be in need of help.

There are other issues, however, that Mr. Parker must confront alone. The true burden of being a super hero is the knowledge that you are different. You will never catch cold. You will never need surgery. Of course, Mr. Parker was once human--he was bitten by a radioactive spider. But other super heroes come from places more remote and forgotten than Forest Hills, Queens. These super heroes, will never know the full truth of their origins. They will never know a home that welcomes them without question.

For these men, the loneliness is only bearable because they can, for short spans of time, pretend. They can summon up another identity. Someone who is not super, not abnormal and not alone. For them, a secret identity is an escape from the loneliness and the penetrating glare of the mere mortals who wish to be rescued from their own mediocrity.

Superman was asked about Mr. Parker's announcement (see Ms. Lane's article on page 1) and said, "Mr. Parker is a very brave man, more for his decision today than for anything he has done to save that fine city. But the important fact is that he made a decision based on what he felt was right, not what some politician told him to do. Identity and privacy should not be concerns of the state."

I agree with Superman. Make no mistake, there is evil in this world. Super heroes were placed here by the fates to protect the world from evil. They do so in the same way that fireman, policeman and soldiers do--at the risk of their own lives for men and women whom they have never met. The terrible events that unfolded in Stamford would have been far worse, were it not for the super heroes and their selfless battle against evil. The first and most important purpose of government is to protect the people. Any government interference with the activities of super heroes is unwarranted and illadvised.

As for his own secret identity, Superman chuckled and said, "My name is Kal-El, and I am the lost son of the planet Krypton. That's all anyone need know." When asked if he maintained a job somewhere in Metropolis, he replied, "Saving the world is a full-time job, Ms. Lane. You would be hard pressed to see me behind a desk somewhere." Indeed.