Superman is *%#& Baloney

What makes this concept that human beings are meant to rely on each other so surprising is that for years now we have believed that people are meant to be alone like the Lone Ranger. The Lone Ranger traipses around the prairie and survives by his wits. He doesn’t need anybody. The Lone Ranger pulls himself up by his bootstraps. He’s a self-made man or woman.

We start training kids early to be little Lone Rangers. They are taught that they must be good at everything in life, as if they will not be able to count on anyone else to help them.

We portray people like Spiderman, the Hulk, Superman, and countless other storybook heroes as role models. We applaud Einstein, Darwin, Benjamin Franklin,

Martin Luther King, Gandhi, and so on as instances of great men who by their remarkable lone example lead the way. I am surrounded by people buckling under the weight of all these miraculous examples of lone men doing great things.

Balderdash! Poppycock! Ridiculous!

No one does anything great alone. Period. Gandhi, Beethoven, and Picasso were the result of loving teamwork. I know a famous painter. His wife lovingly catalogs each painting, liaisons with the galleries, keeps track of his shows, feeds him, and keeps his home organized and running. She supports him emotionally and intellectually. He could not do what he does without her. He most certainly could not have the notoriety he does without her. He will go down in history as a lone great man. Countless boys will read about him and try to imitate him. But if they don’t have a team member willing to help, they won’t join him in history. The team is the hidden ingredient. Our society ignores and devalues it.