There is evil running amok in the world. Children have to call 911 while in the car with their parents driving erratically on the streets. Students still bring guns to school to either defend themselves from errant bullying or to try to wreak havoc on campus. The military regime in Burma has silenced the peaceful monks in that country with violence and imprisonment. Insurgents in Iraq will kill more American soldiers the longer this country’s military occupies that Middle Eastern nation.
If there were ever a time when we needed to be around and see Superman streaking across the horizon, Spider-Man swinging between buildings, or Batman barreling down the freeway in his Batmobile at breakneck speed, it is now.
The world needs a hero, or a slew of them, to right all the wrongs popping up around the globe. Wildfires could be contained in mere minutes, insurgent combatants quelled before lunch and order could be restored in seemingly lawless African nations by sundown.
Superheroes seem to operate without regard for politicking. They just act, doing what needs to be done when it has to be taken care of. If only governments could act so expeditiously without having to check a feasibility study first, more people could be helped sooner rather than later.
Such beings, however, exist only in comic books or movies. To get real solutions to the world’s woes, we must look to those who are in a position to act.
Some world leaders seem content to posture and pander, threatening nuclear wars, while the rest have to settle for threats of their own regarding trade sanctions and other economic embargoes. It seems more like a playground showdown of words than it does a peaceful resolution to a nuclear confrontation.
When one sees the utter devastation caused by the wildfires in California and that our real-world versions of the hero – firefighters – are ready to throw in the towel, Superman becomes the only hope for an end to the intense blaze.
What are we to do when there are problems greater than the people we count on to be the solution? For that we channel Gandhi: "Be the change you want to see in the world."
Though this is hardly a call for everyone to run into southern California with hoses and buckets of water, perhaps it might be a step in the right direction. Though not recommended, a number of homeowners were able to save their own properties by using water from backyard pools and garden hoses to stave off flames from reaching their abodes. Nice for them, but what about their neighbors who had no pool to pump from?
We need to stop thinking of ourselves and work for the greater-global good. The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Al Gore who has tirelessly tried to warn the world about the effects of global warming; for now, rather than run for president of the United States. He remains committed to his cause educating people about global warming and seeking solutions for both holding it off and its eradication.
Though he may not seem like one in the outer sense, Gore is a hero in that he sees a problem and he has stepped up to do something about it involving the greatest number of people he can rally around his cause. That is how one must get things done. Working with others for a more than just, "How does this benefit me?" Gore lives on this planet, too, and though he might see some personal recognition from his work, we all benefit his efforts.
Heroes do not come in the form of a weekly television series, despite the advertisements NBC wants us to believe. Nor will they leap off the page of a comic book and lend a hand.
A hero is born when someone steps off the sidelines, tired of watching, and gets in the game to do what has to be done.
Lopez, an English senior, can be reached via [email protected]
