America's Kryptonite

It may not have been the intention of Jerry Siegel - the creator of Superman - for the comic hero to represent America, but the similarities between Superman and America are difficult to dismiss

Conceived in 1934 by a young man with fantastical delusions of grandeur, Superman would ultimately become the definition for American might and benevolence. And it wouldn't take long for the creative minds at DC Comics to develop villains who - envious of the omnipotence of this hero - would seek the equalizing factor necessary to defeat him.

Our early understanding of Superman was limited to a brief biographical of his arrival from another planet and the rest of the tale was a lead-cased (I couldn't resist) journey of righteous crime fighting devoid of any insight into the man himself. All we knew of him was derived from his exploits when necessary to thwart the deeds of evildoers, with little attention devoted to his "off hours", so to speak.

It wasn't really until Hollywood got involved that we began to understand the Human side of Superman. It took the Liberal Arts majors' intense examinations to discover the rancid worms of emotion slithering in the soul of Superman to truly make him one of us, someone possessing all of the common foibles of humanity; a powerful, sentient being who shared with his flock the traits of love and jealousy while resisting the temptation of hate. What they could not do, however, was change the composition of him. Even as they exposed his capacity for love and envy, they could not find it within themselves to transform him into evil, and as his power was still immense, he remained the humble servant of those he could have easily ruled.

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Still the veritable babe of the planet, America as a nation began lifting pianos in its infancy as well, and has grown up to learn the lessons of justice and ...well, the American way. For much of its existence the country has been the dominant force and, at its zenith, was near omnipotence. Like the presence of the comic book hero, the world has come to rely on the assurances of safety offered by America without fear of being forced to succumb to her whims.

The parallel lies in the fact that both were reviled, despite their benevolence, and both forged enemies who found themselves unable to abide power not in their hands. In the case of the fictitious hero, an equally fictitious villain appeared in the form of Lex Luther who discovered that a piece of his enemy's native planet would render him vulnerable to attack as an ordinary human, making him susceptible to defeat, thought prior to be an impossibility.

In the actual case of America, the search for her own vulnerability began decades ago as subversives strove to gain traction in the struggle to rid the world of its lone sentinel of freedom and righteousness. Even as these forces managed to work in unison and cause distractions for the most powerful nation on the planet, however, there was one element missing necessary for the final bringing of America to its knees; the Kryptonite. Now it seems they have found it.

The Executive branch of the federal government has always been the final gate through which potentially destructive legislation would pass, and it has been rare that both this branch and the Legislative have been controlled by the same party. Furthermore, in times past when this has been the case, the Democrats were much less bold in their leftist agenda than today. They have achieved the perfect storm and are wreaking havoc on our nation.

Casting subtlety aside, Obama came out of the gate and began to prostrate himself - and us - before the world, apologizing for our temerity to be great. Mirroring his Utopian vision of "sameness" amongst the people, he projected the same socialist ideology on the grand scale of the world, insisting that America was no better or nor worse than any other country.

The world rejoiced at this sudden obsequiousness from the country that most of the world - even the beneficiaries of our magnanimity - viewed as arrogant. Oslo reacted instantly, offering the Nobel Peace prize as reward for Obama's dropping of America's drawers. Other, less friendly nations rejoiced in a different way.

North Korea and Iran accelerated their nuclear programs and defiantly began firing test missiles amidst the virtual silence of the new administration, and countries like Venezuela and Cuba brazenly ramped up anti-capitalist rhetoric. Suddenly, there was nothing to fear from the United States. And domestically, the tool of the left was busy whittling away at the strengths of America; her economy and her military.

Like Superman, a prolonged exposure to this onslaught will mean death. Let's hope that 2010 ends that exposure.

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