Shinda & Company

Heroism is the divine relation which, in all times, unites a great man to other men.

- Thomas Carlyle

A very good friend once told me, “Respect everyone, but trust only Gurusahib.” I tried to understand and practice that for some time now, but today I need to increase that trust-count by one.

So let me state for the record:

In Superman we trust.

Now before you discard this post as the nonsense of a madman, allow me my vanity, and give me the next couple of minutes to elaborate. Naturally, being an object of fictitious writing, we can leave Superman in the realm of the pen, or we can massage that imaginary line of real and dream world for the sake of admiration.

When the word Superman hits the ear drum, pushers and pretenders alike, get a breeze of air that strokes their ego.  No matter whom you maybe, there is something, even if dormant, that can identify with Superman.  But I’m not here to talk about the man; I’m here to speak about the legend, the symbol, the Crown.

I, much like the rest of the world think by putting that ‘S’ on my chest, lifting a couple of weights, or even to some extremes, adorning the red cape, somehow makes me Superman.  Sorely how mistaken we are my friends. To disrespect such a man by wearing his clothes but neglecting his morals, his ideals and above all his struggle is nothing short of blasphemy.  We fail to think and realize the presence of divinity.

You see it’s not our fascination with Superman as much as it is with his physical image that we try to relate too.  We want his strength, his ‘faster than a speeding bullet’ speed, his other uncanny powers and for some, his fame.   But lost in the physical persona of Superman, is his neglected inner-being; the driving force behind the man.

Blind faith has its limits, so everybody needs someone to show them that living the just life is possible.  Someone to look up to whenever you are down, someone to catch you while you’re falling.  Nowadays, especially, it is more crucial than ever.  We as a society are able to relate with the stable of antiheroes more than we can with the traditional hero.  For instance, heroes such as Batman, Spiderman and Jack Bauer all follow the ideal that ‘the end justifies the means.’  So as long as the goal gets accomplished the path taken is irrelevant.  ‘Okay!’ You may say, ‘rightfully so’.  In the world today, situations are not as black as white as they once were. Sometimes hard times call for hard measures.  However, if I may borrow the words and actions of Harvey Dent as evidence, subjecting ourselves to this train of thought will eventually prove that the weight of our vices is too much to bear.

“You thought we could be decent men in an indecent time. But you were wrong. The world is cruel…”

Due to the nature of the world described by the white knight who seemingly ‘lived long enough to see himself become the villain’, the need for an absolute hero is that much more imperative.  Not a hero that has his own rules that he can bend whenever it suits his purpose, but a set of concrete rules that do not waver with changes in condition.  Then and only then can you leave the decision made by your mind up to absolute truth.  There is no gray area, no relativity, and no discrepancy.  Superman is that traditional hero.  He does not waver, he does not compromise and he always does the right thing. On society’s part, it is not from a lack of trying either.  He is subject to the same environment as our antiheroes, but he still retains his ideals.  Some people say it is his innate goodness or his virtues that allows him to rise.  However, those factors can only temporarily resist the onslaught of society’s worst before they reach the breaking point.  His power and ability come from a totally different origin.

One can argue, ‘Sure it’s easy doing the right thing when you got all those powers.’  But again, let us not get stuck in the physical realm again.  Superman chooses to do everything he does.  He is not told to save people. When he wakes up in the morning, he knows that the battle he is waging will always end in defeat.  No matter how many lives he saves, no matter how many people he inspires, people will die and people will stray.  Now someone tell me, how much mental strength it takes to fight knowing that you are going to lose.  That pressure of knowing the outcome before the game starts makes some question the rules and some to even refrain from playing.  When does the supply of goodness or virtues end?

Ever been bogged down by pressure? Felt that sensation that goes down your neck, when you feel the fatigue of your muscles buckling?  We think it’s easy wearing the crown, at least for appearances, but only the person with that weight on their shoulders would know.  I am sure he has the same thoughts as everyone else.  He isn’t free of the debate with the pure and impure mind.  An outcome of nurture on Earth gives him a presence of human emotions.  He knows how it would feel to just give up and relax for a moment.  To let up when it is justified, to hang up the boots and live for himself.  Yet he still moves on.  He still struggles because he knows people need to have their faith rewarded.

The human side of him wants that adulation and worship.  He wants to look over at Lois Lane and say ‘I’m Superman’. He wants to tell everyone that ‘I just saved X amount of people today’.  But he chooses to share those thoughts with the blowing wind and rustling leaves.  Have you ever done something that you thought granted recognition, and not obtained it?  The human ego is such a fiend that it will let everybody know who did what in order to hear that sweet sound of praise.  Saving all those lives, inspiring all those people, you would think that Superman would project his grandeur onto the mass populace.  Instead he chooses to live as the mild mannered Clark Kent.  Constantly lying to the people he loves in order to protect them.  Sacrificing the good in his life for the benefit of the masses.  The list goes on, and on.

The lack of love for the man behind Superman is clearly evident when you ask someone what their thoughts are on the man. The most common adjectives that follow suit are: ‘Nerd, Geek, Mr. Goody Tooshoes’ or some other reference to his unyielding nature.  We do not want to relate to that absolute goodness because we think it is hard.  It is easier idolizing a flawed superhero because it justifies our own flaws and drawbacks.  We see ourselves going through the same situations and acting in the same manner as the Punisher, Wolverine, or any head strong hero.  This is exactly what makes Superman that much more distinctive.  He has the same thoughts and emotions flow through his mind but chooses to do the right thing.   He is here to show us that it is possible.  He is here to inspire the good fight, to strengthen the side of justice and return the lost hope of Heaven.

Some people will remark that he has to be Clark Kent to get by.  However, he was Clark Kent before he put on the tights and took flight.  To the contrary, he has to be Superman in order to be Clark Kent.  They are not alter egos.  They are one and the same.  Clark Kent is the outer projection he must give to people in order to keep them safe.  In the words of Bill from Kill Bill Volume II(RIP David Carradine), “What Kent wears - the glasses, the business suit - that's the costume. That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent. He's weak... he's unsure of himself... he's a coward.”

With all that power, why would someone subject themselves to such ridicule?

ਜਿਨ੍‍ ਪਟੁ ਅੰਦਰਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਗੁਦੜੁ ਤੇ ਭਲੇ ਸੰਸਾਰਿ ॥
Those who have silk on the inside and rags on the outside, are the just ones in this world.

The Just, how few they are, have successfully created an ideal, from which their limitless supply of energy comes from. Although when we hear Superman we jump to the stature of the man and his costume, the true profound fascination with Superman lies in what he stands for.  He has become that ideal.  That brand.  That symbol.  Inseparable by any means.  The man himself will pass away eventually.  There will be people who will test their might by trying to bury him.  But the everlasting impression of Superman will never fade.  In a world with many antiheroes and few superheroes, there is only one noble warrior.  So this is dedicated to that righteous knight who even through fiction shoulders the weight for those who cannot. A modern day Atlas. The symbol that inspires the people to bypass the underbelly of this world.  The image of hope. The One to show us that ‘Heaven ain’t hard to find’ and lastly, to prove that wearing a crown is deeper than the waves of self gratification; it’s Divine.

A vigilante is just a man lost in the scramble for his own gratification.
He can be destroyed or locked up.
But if you make yourself more than just a man,
If you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they can’t stop you,
Then you become something else entirely:

Legend