America and the superhero
Trent Demarest
Issue date: 4/17/08 Section: Opinion
To begin this brief missive I would like to pose a riddle: what do you get when you combine the aphorisms of Ghandi, Karl Marx, Peter Parker's Uncle Ben from Spiderman, John Lennon and Bono? Anyone want to hazard a guess?
Give up? I thought so. You get Dave Wasmer's proposal, thought-experiment, or whatever you want to call it, regarding America's mission in the world - a piece recently circulating campus called "American Empire, why not?"
According to Mr. Wasmer, America is, or ought to be, on a mission to rid the world of tyrants who commit murder. Presumably this mandate comes from God, although the tone of his piece suggests that the goddess Reason might be the inspiration. At first I wondered who could have put this notion in Mr. Wasmer's head, but, at last, it's finally starting to come together.
In the movie "Spiderman," Uncle Ben reminds Peter Parker that "with great power comes great responsibility." America, therefore, as the world's "lone superpower," is responsible for toppling the tyrants of the world. After all, we mustn't forget the words of Karl Marx: "From each according to his ability to each according to his need." According to Mr. Wasmer, America has the ability to liberate the oppressed peoples of the world; ergo, we the people, in order to form a more perfect world, should get a move on and do just that.
To paraphrase your friend and mine, Mahatma Gandhi, America needs to "be the change it wishes to see in the world." John Lennon fleshes this out for us a bit, urging us to "imagine all the people / living life in peace." That would be nice, wouldn't it? Last of all, we have Bono. Let's face it, everyone wants Bono on their team for his incisive political acumen and expertise in foreign policy.
Well then, that's all very well and good. It's encouraging to see that Mr. Wasmer has enlisted the sagacity of such staunchly conservative, logical thinkers. To borrow a turn of phrase oft employed by our very own Dr. Wolfram, "That's fine, if you want to do it that way." I would, however, like to suggest another way.
Give up? I thought so. You get Dave Wasmer's proposal, thought-experiment, or whatever you want to call it, regarding America's mission in the world - a piece recently circulating campus called "American Empire, why not?"
According to Mr. Wasmer, America is, or ought to be, on a mission to rid the world of tyrants who commit murder. Presumably this mandate comes from God, although the tone of his piece suggests that the goddess Reason might be the inspiration. At first I wondered who could have put this notion in Mr. Wasmer's head, but, at last, it's finally starting to come together.
In the movie "Spiderman," Uncle Ben reminds Peter Parker that "with great power comes great responsibility." America, therefore, as the world's "lone superpower," is responsible for toppling the tyrants of the world. After all, we mustn't forget the words of Karl Marx: "From each according to his ability to each according to his need." According to Mr. Wasmer, America has the ability to liberate the oppressed peoples of the world; ergo, we the people, in order to form a more perfect world, should get a move on and do just that.
To paraphrase your friend and mine, Mahatma Gandhi, America needs to "be the change it wishes to see in the world." John Lennon fleshes this out for us a bit, urging us to "imagine all the people / living life in peace." That would be nice, wouldn't it? Last of all, we have Bono. Let's face it, everyone wants Bono on their team for his incisive political acumen and expertise in foreign policy.
Well then, that's all very well and good. It's encouraging to see that Mr. Wasmer has enlisted the sagacity of such staunchly conservative, logical thinkers. To borrow a turn of phrase oft employed by our very own Dr. Wolfram, "That's fine, if you want to do it that way." I would, however, like to suggest another way.
Be the first to comment on this story