Truth, Justice OR The American Way

I wouldn’t say that I was a huge Superman fan growing up, however I did like the Justice League and those superheroes who made up the DC Universe.  Superman’s motto of “Truth, Justice and The American Way” really meant something back in those days.

Now I look at what our country has become, and it seems that this motto is no longer accurate.  With the rise of the ultra-conservative, “alt-right”, Trump supporting, GOP, it’s clear to me that, for a large portion of Americans, Truth and Justice no longer seem to matter.

I wrote a response to a friend on Facebook to a post she made that she and her family were celebrating Independence Day in France, where they were “truly free.”  This post hit me especially hard because this is someone who served with honor in the Marines, and I know she has a deep love for this country and what it has stood for.  To see her faith in America shaken to this level really made me think.  (If you are interested in seeing this response, I will follow up with a separate post with that response.)

After SCOTUS overturned Roe V. Wade, it became clear to me that this country is headed down a dangerous path and one that has led to some of the biggest atrocities in American, as well as World history.

One of the most interesting things that I found out when starting to write this post (and honestly did not know before I started this) is that DC announced in October of 2021, that Superman’s motto would change and drop “The American Way” from the motto and it would now be “Truth, justice, and a better tomorrow”.

Over the years, Superman’s motto has evolved, however, Truth and Justice have always been the main pillars upon which his legacy has been built.  “The American Way” was added in the 1940’s during the WWII era where America was fighting the rise of Hitler and the Nazi’s.  It seems only fitting with the rise of Trump and the Authoritarian leaning GOP, that DC would choose this time to remove and replace that portion of the motto.

In the afore mentioned response I wrote that I hoped this would be our generation’s “Phoenix” moment.  That America has “burned to the ground before” and each time has come back stronger and with more resolve.  At the end of my response, I thanked all my friends who proudly served and worked for “a better tomorrow”.  Strange that I used the same verbiage but maybe if we can all come together, we can rebuild this country so that we can once again be proud of “The American Way.”