Religion and nations alike have bought, hook, line and sinker, into the myth of war. Not that war itself is a myth - clearly it is not. Rather, they bought into the myth that War can make things better. We have this convoluted idea that War is redemptive, that through acts of violence (whether they be preemptive or in retaliation) we can squash out... well, violence. Said differently, we genuinely believe that the path to peace (God's peaceable Kin-dom) is violence.

There is something sadly human about it. Possibly even, sadly masculine about it.  From cartoons to video games, kids (particularly boys) not only buy into, but are instinctively drawn toward this myth, as we take on the role of "good guy" (after all, most of us want to believe that, in such a messed up world, at least we, ourselves, are “good”) and project our own less that laudable personality traits onto the bad guy. "You loser!"  “You're nothing but a violent punk.” From pretending to be Superman in our backyard as kids to playing Call of Duty or even Angry Birds as grown ups, we have a deep inward desire (need?) to take on our perceived role as “good guy” and project our negative, violent, aggressive and even lustful behavior onto the villain (be they Lex Luthor or eggs stealing pigs... those nasty, rotten, mucus-nosed, structure-building, egg-stealing pigs... but I digress).

In a sort of sub-conscious psychological dance, we attempt to vanquish this world of all the evil we see in ourselves and in others through acts of physicality, violence and aggression which we justify by pointing to the higher good they achieve – ridding the world of nastiness and evil.  That's the myth of redemptive violence.  It says that violence can end violence, that war can make peace, that domination can usher in equality. 

The reality of it is that it breeds. Violence breeds violence. War breeds war. Domination breeds domination. Superman never ushers in world peace. He keeps fighting the same battles over and over again.

It turns out, we already understand this reality of violence and war; we already intrinsically get that redemptive violence truly is a myth. Even as we played superheroes as kids, we understood that our actions would never really end the violence in the world. We knew that victory was temporary when it was won through force. We knew that Superman would never usher in world peace. We hoped for it, but we knew different. We cannot beat the demons within (or without) by calling on the very source of their power – namely, excerpting power over others.

As Christians we are called to practice the love of our enemy (even the one within). The concept is essentially “redemptive love.”  Rather than practicing power over, it calls us to participate in power with. In short, Jesus calls us to stick with love. At all cost. Just look at his own life.

As for me, I've decided to go with the advice of Dr. Martin Luther King who once said, “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”

I'm a Sci-Fi /Superhero geek.  Sorry.  Currently, one of my favorite shows is "Smallville," which is about the life and times of Clark Kent as he grows into a man and into being Superman.  

Right now, we are in the final season and Superman still can't fly!  You know, the "Look! Up in the air.  It's a bird.  It's a plane.  It's Superman!" Superman?  That Superman can't fly.  Yet, somehow he still manages to take out the evil doers by the end of each episode.   Turns out flying isn't the only thing at which he is super.  Go figure.  

Along with a few other nifty super powers, Clark Kent also has a heart three times the size of a human.  (OK, I may have made that up or managed to confuse the Superman story with the Grinch...but you get the point: Clark has an enormous heart; he's a very good person seeking the best in every situation).

So, Superman can't fly.  So what?  Barrak Obama, is suffering from his inability to fly.  Yes, our Superman is only pretty super and, in the end, human.  Let's face it, he has not performed the super human feats we expected: health care for all, instant repeal of DADT, a robust economy... a chicken in every pot, a car in every garage...and, and cake for everyone!! 

Seriously, did we really think that we could slam the car out of 'R' and speed forward in 'D' at 90 mph?  Of course not.  The engine wouldn't take it.  Not to mention the fact that the evil Doctor 'No' (yes, I know I'm mixing my superhero metaphors), otherwise known as most of the Republican party, had hooked up a Kryptonite chain under the rear axil so that moving forward would yank out the whole drive shaft (again, it's a metaphor, it doesn't have to be mechanically possible - 'kay?)

So, Superman can't fly.  So, what?

• He's done what no other President before him could do; he passed a heath care reform act. 
  
• He's re-envisioned how the White House communicates with the people by doing things from blogging to live streaming a surprising number of White House events.  
  
• He's made education more affordable with things like a $2500 tax credit for those attending college. (I should mention this is a less than surprising priority for someone graduating 2nd in his class at Harvard).  
  
• He doubled the amount awarded for the Pell Grant. 
  
• He signed the Jobs Bill which saves the jobs of about 300,000 teachers. 
  
• By engaging the Muslim world, in just a few short years, he has dramatically and positively effected that faith's opinion of the U.S.  
  
• He has put in an office of Urban Policy in the White house and his administration has pumped 2 billion dollars into anti-gang effort (money that the Bush administration had taken away).  
  
• He has ordered and begun withdrawing troops from a war in which we should have never been.  
  
• At the same time, he has ordered and increase in pay for members of the military.  
  
• He has removed restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research opening up the door to a number of heath care advancements.  
  
• He's insured that 4 million children, who previously had no healthcare coverage are now covered.  
  
• He prevented much of the auto-industry from crashing (bad pun, sorry) and in doing so saved millions of job and (as it turns out) made money for the government in the process.  
  
• He ended a policy that gave tax breaks to American corporations that outsourced jobs.  
  
• He appointed the first Latina to the Supreme Court.  
  
• He is the first sitting U.S. president to preside over a meeting at the United Nations Security Council. 
  
• Oh, and he won The Nobel Peace prize.

He did it all in two years...WHILE Doctor 'No' was pulling in the opposite direction the whole time by constantly shutting down Congress with evil and nefarious games.

So sure, Superman has heat vision, runs faster than a speeding bullet and can leap over tall buildings in a single bound, but let's lambast him for not being able to fly.  Makes perfect sense.  

Just keep this in mind, Obama has the heart for the job and it turns out flying isn't the only thing at which he is super.  We probably need to put a little more faith into our heroes and trust that they are doing that which is possible rather than getting hung up on whether or not they are flying.