"I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark. I wasn't confused by it." Tina Fey
At the January 6th insurrection, some of the rioters wore accouterments adorned with imagery of Captain America in mash ups with Donald Trump.
This did not sit well with the son of Jack Kirby.
This is some of what Neal Kirby had to say about this.
"Captain America has stood as a symbol and protector of our democracy and the rule of law for the past 79 years. He was created by two Jewish guys from New York who hated Nazis and hated bullies. Captain America stood up for the underdog, and, as the story was written, even before he gained his strength and prowess from Army scientists, always stood for what was righteous, and never backed down."
"Captain America is the absolute antithesis of Donald Trump. Where Captain America is selfless, Trump is self-serving. Where Captain America fights for our country and democracy, Trump fights for personal power and autocracy. Where Captain America stands with the common man, Trump stands with the powerful and privileged. Where Captain America is courageous, Trump is a coward. Captain America and Trump couldn't be more different."
"If Donald Trump had the qualities and character of Captain America, the White House would be a shining symbol of truth and integrity, not a festering cesspool of lies and hypocrisy.
Several of our presidents held the same values as Captain America. Donald Trump is not one of them."
Now I'm a bit slow sometimes to pick up on things but I'm getting the feeling that Neal Kirby doesn't like Donald Trump.
The idea that the insurrectionists for Donald Trump would appropriate Captain America imagery is reprehensible but also completely expected. It seems to me that those who bellow the loudest of their love of America are the same people who completely fail to grasp what America is all about. Trump and his supporters think America's power come from it's strength conveyed through a brute application of that strength.
America's true power is rooted in it's ideals, ideals of freedom, equality and democracy. We have not always been true to our ideals but we have tried for the most part and that is what earns the respect of the world.
What drives the proud legacy of Captain America is not his powers but his commitment to stand for what is righteous and never back down as Neal Kirby put it earlier. Captain America doesn't fight because he knows he'll win; he fights for the cause that is right and just.
Donald Trump fights for himself, his own ego. And he has conned his supporters to turn their allegiance from their country to him. They can't see their being conned; they've conflated the good of the country with the ego maniacal desires of Donald Trump.
God bless Neal Kirby for defending his father's legacy and stating so clearly what Captain America stands for.
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