When I tell people I’m a big fan of books and TV series about superheroes, such as The Flash, Iron Man or The Avengers, they often ask why. People wonder why I don’t want to read something ‘less simple’ or suggest that the TV shows are ‘a bit childish’. Apart from the fact that I don’t grasp why people have a judgment on the things that make me happy, I often wonder why they don’t read those kinds of books or watch those TV shows themselves.
The reason why I love superheroes is because I often wish I could be one. If I were a superhero with my own superpowers, I’d be able to do so much about all the ‘evil’ in the world. I know we don’t have monsters in the world in the form of demons, super villains or evil masterminds.
But we do have politicians wishing to reverse the progress we’ve made by wanting to deport people of a different ethnicity. We have people who hate others based on their gender, race, sexuality or religion. We have countries which ban transgenders from being in the army. We have people threatening each other for the silliest reasons, such as changes in gender labelling in a store or changes in holidays for discriminatory reasons or trying to include more people in society. We have people stealing, hurting and killing other people.
So there is evil in the world, but there is so much more good in the world too. People are so much more good than evil. We all have the inner power to be a good person, to be a superhero. And no, we don’t have fictional superpowers. But we have other superpowers, such as compassion and love which can also make a difference.
So if we all channelled our inner superhero and helped each other, perhaps the world would gradually become a better place. Because the world needs more superheroes, and I think we can all agree that we don’t wish to see the world being damned to hell. So the next time I’m asked if it’s not ‘childish’, I’ll just smile and let it be, because I’m far too busy channelling my inner superhero.
Rocher Koendjbiharie, masterstudent International Public Management & Policy
