Why the World Needs Superman
It’s hard to remember a time before Superman.
The world was a bleaker place.
War and prejudice were a constant reminder of the failings of humanity.
We fought over land, we fought over religion,
we found numerous excuses to kill each other.
Religious fanatics spread poison across the planet,
committing acts that went against the teachings they claimed to uphold.
Then, out of nowhere, a being of vast power revealed himself to us.
He didn’t use his abilities to conquer us, he used them to help us.
Suddenly the world began to change.
Crime rates went down, nations made peace.
Our home seemed to become a better place to live.
We called him Superman, a saviour from beyond the stars.
An alien,
who seemed more in touch with what it means to be human than any of us.
In Superman Returns,
Superman went away for five years after Krypton was discovered by astronomers.
He, of course, went to see if there was anything left.
Then he left, and the world fell in to chaos.
When he came back, he discovered Lois had won a Pulitzer for her story,
"Why the World Doesn't Need Superman."
Lois Lane claimed that the world didn’t need him.
Lois felt the world didn't need a savior.
A little ironic since without Superman,
she wouldn’t have been alive to write her prize-winning article.
Ms. Lane believes that
we had become too dependent on the Man of Steel
and perhaps she was right.
But the blame doesn’t lie with Superman, it lies with us.
Superman never claimed to be a saviour,
he never called himself a hero.
We are the ones who put him on a pedestal,
who called on him to save us time and time again…
and he did so, without asking for any reward or recognition.
Superman heard them crying out for one.
But maybe what the world really needed was someone to believe in.
Someone they knew they could trust.
Someone they could point at and say, "He's our hero."
Many people resented him for leaving,
they believed that Superman was their property to use whenever they wished.
Yes, we learned to fend for ourselves once he was gone,
but that doesn’t mean we didn’t need him anymore.
And of course
when he came back
Lois realized how much she loved and needed him,
and it was all very sweet.
Ms. Lane pointed to Earthly heroes – teachers, fire-fighters, doctors, the police.
And they are heroes.
But teachers retire, as do doctors and fire-fighters.
We don’t expect a policeman to walk the beat every day of his life
without food or rest
and nor should we expect the same of Superman.
Even with Superman around, people still died, disasters still happened.
He couldn’t be everywhere at once.
But with Superman watching over us,
people that should have died were saved and many disasters were prevented.
We never expected Superman to show up at every single disaster.
We knew that,
despite his amazing abilities, he was still just one man.
We hoped that he would be there,
but we still approached situations under the assumption that he wouldn’t.
We didn’t lose our survival instincts as you suggest Ms. Lane,
we carried on as normal
and Superman lent us a helping hand when he could.
He never said he was a god or a divine being.
In fact, in many of the articles you wrote Ms. Lane,
you quoted Superman as saying that
he was no different than the fire-fighters and police.
He was just a guy trying to help us.
Of course it’s impossible to ignore the fact that Superman has some amazing gifts.
He can fly, shoot fire from his eyes and lift entire mountains up over his head.
A sprinter can run the 100 meters in under 10 seconds.
Does that mean he should keep running when he’s in his 60’s or 70’s
just because it’s a natural talent?
Of course not.
Superman’s departure is no different than a doctor who chooses to retire.
Did the world really expect him to fly around saving us forever?
The very fact that the world became a worse place
when he left proves that we still need him.
Without doctors, people would get sick and die.
Without teachers, our children would be uneducated and have little or no future.
And without Superman, hope disappears.
Yes, we do depend on him in some ways and perhaps we shouldn’t.
But we do need him, if only to show us the possibilities of our future.
Wars stopped when he was around, but Superman didn’t stop them.
We did.
In fact, Superman has maintained neutrality
when it comes to conflicts between nations.
Sure, he encouraged us to try to create peace, but he didn’t do it for us.
When he returned, the world embraced him with open arms.
Thousands of people stood in Metropolis,
waiting outside the hospital to pray for him after he fell from the skies…
it hardly seems like the actions of a world that hated him for leaving in the first place.
We need Superman,
not to solve the world’s problems,
but as an example of what we can become
if we endeavour to solve them ourselves.
If he continues to help us, stopping great tragedies from occurring,
then we should be grateful,
but we shouldn’t raise him to the level of a god
just because he can put out a fire with his breath.
And if Superman should decide to call it a day and move on,
then we should thank him for his efforts,
but we shouldn’t resent him…
not after the many lives he has saved.
We cannot be selfish,
we cannot afford to be wrapped up in our own misguided perceptions of reality.
Superman never made us forget how to survive on our own.
He didn’t spoon-feed us with political statements.
He saved us because he wanted to,
not because we told him to.
He is a symbol of what we can become and that’s why we need him.
Someday, he may leave again and if that happens,
we must make sure that we don’t blame him for our own failings.
If he leaves, we should use his legacy to inspire future generations,
not use his departure as an excuse to drown ourselves in misery.
Why does the world need Superman?
For the same reason people believe in God.
To have the courage to do things ourselves,
while knowing that there is someone there, watching over us.
He may not always come when there’s danger,
but just knowing he’s out there,
somewhere gives us the strength to be greater than we think is possible
and that is Superman’s greatest gift to us.
超人 / 五月天
作詞：阿信 作曲：冠佑/阿信 編曲：五月天
世界如果被殘酷攻擊
只要給我一個電話亭
把內褲當外衣
如果你能夠開心
展開披風 帶你飛行
誰賜予我這一身
無助的能力
神也不能阻擋
你想離開的心
為什麼拯救地球 是那麼容易
為什麼束手無策啊 我和你的愛情
為什麼我能飛天 也能夠遁地
為什麼我卻沒辦法 長驅直入你的心
曾經你讚美我手臂 逛街多能提
日日夜夜貼身保護你
最凶狠的怪獸 也不能與我為敵
那為何害怕你的淚滴
我給了我這一幕 難堪的結局
誰要這樣超人 連自己也救不起
為什麼拯救地球 是那麼容易
為什麼束手無策啊 我和你的愛情
為什麼拯救地球 終於完美結局
為什麼 我只能夠 眼看著愛燃燒成 灰燼
世界如果被殘酷攻擊 誰來接手我的超能力
Even the God still can't avoid the Superman's departure for his final home
for his true love of the same blue blood native from the same planet.
Of course, nor can I ask him for a long stay with a little me.
Superman is born gifted, talented of amazing abilities to save us common people
He belongs to himself if he intends for a retirement or rest,
and he belongs to the whole human beings as well if he inclines to protect the earth.
No one has the right to demand him for company
to live for her or to save her from the loneliness.
God helps those who help themselves.
Same as the Superman.
We should learn to protect ourselves
beofore just praying for a rescue of a busy Superman.
I should't have been too judgmental or assumed who deserved to be the very one.
Yet,he deserves to live freely to maitain neutrality.
He doesn't prefer anyone to someone else.
He saves the most in need first
on the basis of necessity but not on his preference.
I was supposed to understand him better.
I should have known him better
before I felt upset or struck down by just that envy or jealousy
My eyes became so green
that I was too emotional to accept what the destiny really had it.
My Superman,
is it too late?
or am I too stupid to realize
how tough the battle is you are fighting in?
how sorrowful the life you are getting by?
how hard the mission you are struggle for?
You made your choice already
to contribute yourself to the earth, to the general people, to the vast universe.
Then,
I should let you soar away at will without worry or cocern about my trifles.
You are on a go to exert every effort to rescue your beloved .
"My Superman, have I ever been your loved?" asked Lois.
Yet, she never needs an answer, for she knows that well she loves him,
and she has the little Superman to empathize with.
She calls him memory and belief.
He is an image of KINDNESS and SYMPATHY.
and she is luckily presented by his contribution and philanthropy.
Heal the world as possible you can.
GO!
No worries.
I am always here backing you up and taking good care for your beloved me and home.
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