Modern Day Super Hero?

A New kind of Super Hero


They say that the President of the United States is the most powerful man on earth. Some people would choose to debate this, but there is no doubt that whatever he or she decides to do does have an effect on just about the whole world, so that is a lot of power. However, it’s not simply a case of having the power, but how it is used that is important.

I finally got around to watching the film “Hancock” starring Will Smith. This is a very unusual role for him as he acts out the part of Super Hero, a different kind of Superman. He has a definite public relations problem in the film, but it got me to thinking about super heroes, and what we expect from them.

Essentially, we expect our ideal hero to be on the side of good. They are supposed to be a part of the solution, coming to the rescue in the nick of time. No challenge is too great, or too small, and everybody looks up to them. Most of our super heroes exists only in our imagination, however President Obama is very real, and so far he seems to be filling out the criteria very well.

He has taken on an impossible task, that of putting the U.S. economy back on the tracks after a derailment unlike at any other time in history, and that would most likely lead to putting things right with the rest of the world. He has taken some bold steps to turn things around. The U.S. was in very bad shape when he stepped into office on January 20th, 2009. President George W. Bush drew the short end of the stick. It was on his watch that 9/11 happened, and when the result of too much easy credit came home to roost.

I thought that he, together with Dick Cheney as Vice-President, and Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defence responded quite rationally by striking back at the sponsors of the 9/11 atrocity in Afghanistan. However, they then went a step too far by attacking Iraq on a pretext, and that led to a great deal of criticism worldwide, and America’s image fell off a cliff.

Following President Obama’s G-20 involvement and stops throughout Europe a poll was conducted among foreigners asking whether his performance had caused them to revise their opinion favourably towards the United States, and a staggering 91% said yes. This is no small achievement and bodes well for the future.

President Obama has gone on to tackle the thorny issue of Cuba, a thorn in the side of the U.S. for over 50 years. No other president would even touch the subject, but just a little loosening of the icy grip has brought forth from the Castro brothers the surprising statement that they are prepared to talk, and everything is on the table. At the least Cuba has been a perpetual embarrassment to the U.S. so to bring about a warming of relations would be a welcome thing. After all there are very real people who have been suffering as a result of the intransigence of the leaders.

Then came the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, and Mr. Big Mouth, Hugo Chavez, who is on record as having said that he thought President Obama was stupid was overheard now to say that he would welcome a friendship between himself and Mr. Obama.

So far, so good!

This is the kind of real super hero we can all believe in. I’m sure that even those people who still can’t digest the fact that he is their president are probably pausing to reflect on the reasons they hate him so much, and are finding that the list is shrinking.

So, as goes the President so goes the country, and in effect the entire world. At least everybody is talking, except that lone wolf in North Korea, but hopefully he will come around. His people are dying to have him get on board the Joy Express.

I wish President Obama continued success, and very small and inconsequential errors because he does not walk on water. Let’s stay tuned for the second 100 days.

Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael

The Times in which we Live

Over a recent span of time I have become engrossed in survivability in times of war and peace. One thing rings very clear in my mind, and it is this: we are all products of our time. Our experience will de dictated by those times, and in spite of our individual ambitions it will be the circumstances into which we are born that will ultimately determine the degree of quality, and to a large measure the quantity of the life that we will lead.

This was not always obvious to me, although I was born in 1939, a time of war for the western world. From my earliest memories I have lived in a period of rising expectations, a very privileged position to have had.

I began kindergarten at age five. The U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force occupied their bases on my island. It was from these personnel that I first tasted chewing gum and chocolate, and I was told tales of life in America. The war ended and the government decided to develop tourism to Bermuda as its main economic pillar.

As U.S. dollars continued to roll into our economy the value of our little piece of real estate in the Atlantic began to grow and the benefit was felt throughout the entire island.
I never had to serve in the armed forces, and nothing arose to disturb my progress in realising my own ambitions. My life has been my own to live as I have seen fit, and I am the only person responsible for my success in life, or otherwise.

Living in Spain in my retirement has brought all this home to me as I continue to research the history of this country. Any country that has been through a civil war, (in my opinion the very worst kind of war there is), has a very special challenge placed upon its future. Fundamentally, this country went to the polls and elected a government in a spirit of democracy, and that led to more trouble than anyone could have predicted. For many people it led to their very own deaths.

There are certain issues that can erupt within society that draw clear lines with no room for fence sitting. You either support the present government or you don’t. You either support the death penalty or you don’t. The issue of slavery brought a nation to clash against itself and its wounds are still somewhat raw all these years later.

We have avoided war in most cases of disagreement because we have matured as humankind. We have seen how ugly war is and we would rather avoid sinking into that particular hell. However, in some cases as individuals we are simply drawn into conflict, and that is where luck comes into play.

For me, I am very lucky to have been born in Bermuda. My forbearers moved from America to Barbados, and then to Bermuda. Had I been born in America my life’s experience would have been very different. I sat on the sidelines and watched Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr lead the fight for my human rights. I also sat on the sidelines as Barack Obama fought gallantly to move America forward by a quantum step to realise Dr. King’s dream. Had I grown up in America I would have been in the thick of battle, and I would not have had a choice.

Our son has to cope in times of growing hardship and grave social danger. The very large question that is unanswered at the moment is whether there is a wall into which he will slam that will turn his life into a living hell. Our hope for him is that he will always have options for growth and happiness, and that he will have the wisdom to make the right choices. Far too many young people squander their choices until they find it’s too late to recover, and that they are the authors of their own misfortune.

The other big negative is that we should expect to see stress related illness affect more young people than ever. We already have seen a dramatic rise in murders committed by the very young.

In the times in which we are now living, being young might just be the greatest weight of all to bear.

Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael

One Solo Crane

Lonely Crane

Once upon a time, not very long ago our skyline was a very busy place. One could have turned 360 degrees and everywhere you would have seen construction cranes dotting the horizon. You could have been forgiven for thinking that they were tv antennas. Here in Spain, as a measure of how hard the economy has fallen our skyline is all but bereft of the familiar sight of those giants standing watch over us.

The building boom that began ahead of the change to the euro gathered pace and had the beneficial effect of taking all those unemployed people off the streets. Spain had never been so safe for instead of breaking into homes men have had legitimate work.

Then, a little Building Society in England when bust, leaving depositors lining up at its doors demanding their money. Little did anyone know that that was the thin edge of the wedge. Bankers have been quick to point fingers at the United States, declaring that the problems started there. Certainly the scope of the crisis there is enormous, but how did it involve institutions around the world?

The construction industry was the engine that drove Spain hard. Spaniards came to realize benefits they could not have dreamed of. Suddenly everyone was driving a top of the line car, with summer and winter homes. The top jobs were reserved for locals, and the ladies were turned out in only the best.

Pop! Bang!! Boom!!!

That was the sound the Spanish balloon made as it burst, making for the worst statistic within Europe. So far, four million are out of work. Many foreigners who came to get a piece of the pie have simply returned home. However, those illegal would-be immigrants still come in droves hoping against hope that Spain holds a better life them. A few do succeed and the word gets back home and that brings even more to place an ever-heavier burden on social services. Somehow the word needs to get to Africa that there really isn’t anything better here for them. The special shame is that so many lose their lives along the way in vain.

As I write this the downward spiral continues at an increasing pace. The knock-on effect is taking its toll as one after another companies are forced to close. One way we know when things are on an upward spiral is by seeing the new shops and restaurants and bars that open offering new and exotic experiences. Fancy design furniture shops; travel agencies send people farther afield, and fashions soar in their imagination. Those things are gone now, or well on their way out.

I passed a young woman sitting on a doorstep recently. I have never seen such despair up close as she showed me. She looked up and our eyes met and I was shaken by what I saw. I have no real idea of what her problem was. It need not have been money, or even the effects of illegal drugs, I only know that I have been seriously affected. I think she was saying with her eyes that she wanted to die, there and then.

It’s very difficult to say how long these sad times might last. There is so much over inventory in ready-to-move-in houses that have absolutely no buyers, and the promise of possible buyers recedes with every new person laid off. Now would perhaps be a good time for young people to consider joining the military, and the government might consider an aggressive programme of road and bridge building. The traditional cornerstones of the economy are in serious trouble, and the day that they emerge into the light will probably be a long way into the future.

Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael

More Bad News

Crimes against all the women of the World

Last week I wrote about Josef Fritzl, the monster of Austria, who dislikes being thought of as a monster for having enslaved his daughter for 24 years and keeping her as his sex slave. You will recall that he fathered 7 children with her, against her will. It seems that although I said that I was disgusted by his actions, I neglected to say how ashamed that made me feel as a man, that one of of "us" could be so low. Well, unfortunately, even before the ink had dried I got another chance to express my revulsion and to make up for my omission.

Austria may be glad to have some company in its misery, but Colombia, South America, have now reported that they have arrested their own monster for allegedly sexually abusing his daughter over a very long time, and in the process he has fathered eight children with her. The daughter is now 35 years of age, and her oldest child is 19, a shared fact with the Fritzl case.

The man, speaking in his own defence, said that the woman is not his biological daughter, but rather he and his now deceased wife adopted her. His daughter is adamant that he is her biological father.

Let me be clear: whether adopted or biological, there is no difference in so far as this crime is concerned. It is heinous and beyond the acceptable or understandable actions of man. The man who molests his own children is scum. He gives up his right to call himself a man, because other men cannot understand him, nor apologise for him. Indeed, he can no longer say that he is a decent human being. He moves down beyond the bottom dwellers. He cannot say that he lives with them because they have done nothing to be linked with him.

These kinds of actions, no matter how many more come to the surface, are so far outside respectable human behaviour that the individuals who commit them deserve our absolute scorn.

Much time and angst has been spent in trying to come up with an appropriate form of punishment/treatment to deal with these cretins. When last I wrote I said that I simply did not know what was the correct thing to do. Well, I now have a better idea.

Most men are motivated by our sexual urges. That’s how we are wired. We work hard to impress the women we find attractive, and all our efforts drive us to sexually mate with the women we find who inspire us. The kids and the mortgage and stressful job come as a surprise. I’m assuming that these men who take their daughters do so because of an inability to find satisfaction elsewhere. Should that be the case I have to assume there will be other cases in the future.

Rape, imprisonment, abduction, already have their punishment guidelines. What we need to do is beef up the response to this sort of incest. I am certain that within the boundaries of decent society’s conscience we can tolerate treating the attacker by having his penis reduced to a mere stump so that it can no longer be used for penetration purposes. Such an operation can be carried out with all proper conditions, and most likely doctors would not have a problem with it. After all, it does not contravene the Hippocratic oath to do no harm, as the doctor will be safeguarding society and the individual himself.

I also believe that the men themselves would possibility agree to such a procedure. The one thing that is apparent is that when found out these men go into a super sense of shame. We saw how Josef Fritzl hid his face, even though it was already so well known. Some people who commit certain types of crime actually hope to be caught and stopped.

And now, a word to the women of the world: The vast majority of men are decent people who are as outraged as you must be by the telling of these tales. We do not understand such individuals who commit such outrage against women, nor can we condone in any way their actions. We find ourselves constrained by the natural justice guidelines, beyond which we will not go. This is not a time to lose faith and to think that the world is going to end in a cesspool of depravity because all the men have gone mad. However, what this does tell us is that there are a few men who are capable of taking their sickness into new frontiers. There would be nothing wrong with bearing that in mind and acting accordingly.

What do you think?

Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael