What is a superhero? We usually think of a superhero as someone who has a profession, who is mild mannered, well kept ... someone 'normal'. The superhero is a who person changes when the sun goes down, he (or she) dons a uniform and heads out to save the world. Superman saves Metropolis, Batman Gotham, Spider Man ... New York and Wonder Woman protected Washington D.C. As long as these super human protectors are around we feel safe in our homes and know that when the super villains attack they will be there to swoop down from the sky and deflect the bullets or snatch us away. Well maybe we should look around because there's a superhero nearby. A super hero that maybe we don't even notice. I am talking about our citizen soldiers; men and women who work right next to us. They are in our cubicles and in our offices. They go to our churches and belong to our clubs. One may be across from you at the Starbucks as you read this or in your own home. We don't notice them because from the outward view they appear to be just like us, but they aren't! These are superheroes. They are there quietly watching the news ... standing right beside you ... when something we now call 9/11 occurs. We watch in horror while they watch knowing they are going to be called once more into the breach. The super villains attack and all of a sudden that mild mannered computer programmer or auto mechanic or doctor who works next to you stands up, removes his white shirt and tie, or coveralls, or whatever their disguise is and becomes Captain America! Off they go into the sky! In the uniform we never see them in until the ca-ca hits the fan. When we are worried about our families, jobs and homes; they are in the back of a C-130 with a rifle strapped to their chest and a parachute on their back. When we are fighting traffic they are in a far away land searching out the super villain who is hiding, ever hiding among the rocks or the women or the children. These brave American superheroes are real though, not comic book creations of someone's imagination. When a bullet hits them ... it doesn't bounce off. What kind of courage does it take for Superman to stand in front of a bullet he knows will ricochet off him like it would ricochet off a rock? Our superheroes have real courage! They know our enemy can hurt them and yet they still stand in the way to protect us. We may not like that they have to go to Iraq. We may not agree with the thought of fighting in Iraq. No one (however anti-war) can doubt that as long as our superheroes are in Iraq the super villains are going attacking them there instead of us here. The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his cause. Once more into the breach our superheroes have plunged, once again their bodies are laid to the grinder of war to preserve us from the evil. Let us not question the war for there is no doubt that the enemy will stop at nothing to kill as many of us as they can; rather let us ask, "are we worthy of their sacrifice?" |
