My kind of Superhero

There has been a recent surge of superhero movies lately, and really who could blame mass populations for loving the movies. In a time where there are wars, earthquakes, massive environmental damage, a sad sad economy, corrupt politicians, celebrity drama, and violence on the rise (or so it would seem in the media) why would we NOT want to sit in the dark for 2 hours while our world is saved by a man or woman in a mask and a really cool cape?

It seems we have forgotten the every day heroes, the ones who don't have a cape. These people get forgotten so often, I think, because they look like everyone else. They are the men who work the double so their family can have a nice Christmas this year, the women who run families and have rock solid careers, the parents who teach their children the meaning of giving of themselves, the teenager who gives up their summer to clean the gulf coast. These are the people who smile at the stranger who looks like they are having a bad day, someone who drops a quarter in the cup of the homeless guy every day for a year, the little boy who holds the door open for the older people because that's what he was raised to do, the friend who calls an old friend just to say hey, the old couple who work harder now that they are retired in a volunteer capacity than they ever did when they got paid, and the teacher who helps the students believe in themselves.

These are the people that are overlooked and ignored. These are the reason our world hangs in there and keeps spinning. So many people are so busy destroying that they ignore the individuals, the people that are filling the voids and cracks that humanity as a whole create. These individuals do not see what they are doing as heroic, they see it as the right, upstanding, hard working, giving, loving thing to do, which in of itself is a heroic mindset.

But what happens when these people disappear...who is going to save our world then? It isn't going to be watch groups, politicians, celebrities, or those who shed blood in the name of (pick whatever cause, religious group, or fight you want). If that were the case...our world would already be saved. I worry that someday our real life heroes will get tired and lay down and ignore the fight, especially if people don't believe in them.

So I am going to continue to believe in them and try and model my life in a way that I can be a hero...because the cool people on the movie screen can't save our world without a little help. Stand up you unrecognized heroes, put on your cape and let's save our world.


"Should we someday lose the attentions of those who believe in us...would we cease to exist?"
Thor to Captain America