Superman And A Better Tomorrow

 Last week, Superman pissed off the right wing nut cases on Fox News and their ilk by being gay.  

This week, Superman has those same right wing nut cases completely irked and tizzied over the Man of Steel wanting... a better tomorrow.

Unveiled at the DC Fandome this past weekend is the new mission statement of "Truth, Justice and a Better Tomorrow" replacing the old one: "Truth, Justice and the American Way".  

Dean Cain who used to be Man of Steel in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was queued up and spoke out against the new slogan.

Of course the man who used to portray Superman doesn't get who Superman is supposed to be.

Jason Chaffetz declared,  “That is so weak and so woke. Look, it’s just validating why I was so into Aquaman versus Superman!”

Who wants to break it to Jason that Aquaman is not American? He's from a whole other country, dude! 

As Raj from Big Bang Theory would remind you, "Aquaman sucks!"  

Harris Faulkner insisted. “Look, I don’t think there’s any confusion here. We’re being told not to love our country, or at least it feels that way.”

Lisa “Kennedy” Montgomery says this shows that Superman is "the instrument of the Chinese Communist Party.”

Hysterical overreaction much?  

Superman is a hero for the world.  Look, if Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster had been a couple of kids from France, we would think "Truth, Justice and the French Way" would be limiting, provincial, self-serving.  

The thing is I'm trying to remember when was the last time the slogan "Truth, Justice and the American Way" had been used for the Man of Steel.  

I know Perry White skirted around the whole thing in Superman Returns citing Superman should stand for "Truth, Justice and all that other stuff".  

While "Truth and Justice" have long been part of the Superman mission from day one, "the American Way" was tacked on briefly during World War II and then in the days of the Communist red scare of the 1950's, "Truth, Justice and the American Way" became part of the opening narration of the Superman TV show starring George Reeves.   

From there, the phrase became an indelible part of the Superman mythos although I rarely saw it referenced in the comics themselves. 

Indeed, the whole "American Way" thing has always seemed an odd fit for a super hero whose scope is the protection of the entire planet.

And what exactly does "the American Way" even mean any more? Within the borders of our own nation, half of the population seems to have a view of "the American Way" that is diametrically opposed to the other half.

Never mind what the hell people outside the United States might think "the American Way" might mean.

Maybe there was a time when "the American Way" might have meant something to the world, a short hand for freedom, liberty and opportunity. Now other countries look at us and wonder "what the hell is wrong over there?" Mass shootings, lack of access to health care, voter suppression. Suddenly, "the American Way" is not such a thing to be sought after.  

The jingoistic mouth pieces on Fox might feel differently. America is awesome right now! 

How can there be a better tomorrow when today in America is already great? 

For the rest of us who live in the real world, who can deny the appeal of "a better tomorrow"?