Look! Up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s… it’s a non-citizen. No one watches baseball anymore, apple pie leads to obesity, and Superman is no longer an American. Thanks a lot pop culture!
As a general rule I avoid discussing politics in the creative world in which I roam. Mostly it’s because I look at comics and entertainment as a form of escapism where I can get a break from the drama of the day. Unfortunately after reading this article on Comics Alliance I can’t help myself.
Superman is not a man he’s a hero– an ideal. America is not a country it’s an ideal– it represents freedom. Superman is America and America is Superman, they can’t be disconnected. They are inexorably linked both literally and figuratively. I can’t think of anything more ironic than the symbol of American Exceptionalism– Superman, renouncing his citizenship from the nation whose freedom and idealism made his creation possible. Where else in the world could such a character rise from obscurity and become the media icon that he is today?
Politics, Presidents and American policy change but truth, justice and the American way ALWAYS remain the same. We along with our champion Superman should be able to say that without apology. To deviate from that ideal removes an essential element of Supes’ character and identity including our own. I refuse to live in a world of moral relativism where the very idealism that saved our world through war, both hot and cold during the 20th century is renounced.
I think many people confuse America being exceptional with America being superior. There is a difference. Political parties and pundits act “superior” by promoting their agenda through any means possible. Being exceptional implies tolerating debate because freedom is what’s most important. Superman has no need to renounce his citizenship because as an American he’s FREE to express himself no matter what! He is not a tool of America he IS America.
Maybe it would be more apropos for Superman to renounce his affiliation with DC comics and Warner Bros and return all his profits to the Siegel and Shuster families.
