"In an exchange between Lois Lane and Superman Lois boldly claims, “The world doesn’t need a savior. And neither do I.”
Superman replies with, “You wrote that the world doesn’t need a savior. But everyday I hear people crying for one.”
At one point Superman is floating in space beholding the earth when the voice of his Father echoes out from the past in his mind with these words:
“They can be a great people, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way.
For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you-my only son.”
This sounds rather Biblical, like God, sending his only son to die so that our sins might be forgiven.
Is the United States like the World's Superman?
We run to the rescue of any and all for the best of reasons which are often misunderstood.
But what has happened to our people? Americans? What has happened to our country?

Has 'Superman' been so busy overseas that it no longer matters what happens to those of us here?
Suck it up. Sacrifice.

Give our lives and treasure to a World that doesn't care. When do Americans see their 'Superman' come home to be super her? We do we get a break? We spend a lot so others have what we have. When will we get to rest from the many wars?
Lois Lane, in "Superman Returns" the movie, wrote a pulitzer prize winning story, "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman".
I thought it was appropriate after 12 years in Afghanistan to adapt the story to read, "Why the World Doesn't Need America".
Maybe this may seem selfish.

Americans have been left increasingly more to fend for ourselves at home while all of America's resources are being spent in wars overseas.
Do Americans have the right to ask for our superhero to come home to take care of our needs and wants?
"Why the World Doesn't Need America"
Earth 2012. For 67 long years, since WWII ended, the Americans have stared into the sky, waiting, hoping and praying for America’s return. We’ve spent our days asking where America went, debating why she left and wonder is she even alive.

Perhaps she left us for another country, a country and people in greater need of a savior. Is it selfish to desire ‘America’ for ourselves? Are we expected to share the country we’ve come to love with the rest of the World or did we do something wrong for America to leave home and not come back?

Did we take America for granted? Perhaps we did. Maybe we all did, it's not our fault. We are far from perfect. Yet a mother will accept her children regardless of their misfortunes.

Why has America rejected us for others? Perhaps we’re a lost cause unworthy of help and doomed to continue on a path of self-destruction. America has moved on, helping others with a foreseeable future of peace and harmony or better economic prospects.

From the first day America mysteriously appeared in 1776, we were enamored. She seemed too good to be true.

A country who could fly, see through walls and chart our future, bend steel swords into ploughshares with her bare hands. America was a country who never lied. A country that could do anything she wanted to yet she chose to be a hero.

America chose to fight for truth, justice and the American way, and we chose to believe. We put our faith, not in the hands of God, but in the hands of America. Lives were not saved by any kind of divine intervention, miracle or act of God. They were saved by one country, and one country only, our America. We didn’t question her intentions and other than a few basic facts we didn't question her unbelievable origins. When did she actually arrive? It didn't matter. America was good and good for us and that was enough.

New generations of children have grown up idolizing this hero, proud to display her flag around the family home. We welcome America into our homes and family. She was a quintessential source of pride. America was a role model for our children and the guardian of their lives.
Does a hero walk out on her family?

Walk away from her children? After letting us place our hopes on her, her disappearance must be seen nothing short of abandonment.

A dereliction of duty. No better that a parent abandoning a child, a doctor walking out on their patient. We must ask ourselves if America returned would we welcome her back. Could she heal the scars she left behind? The country is in pain, its citizens angry, hurt and unforgiving. We have learned from our bad judgment, and we are not prepared to make the same mistake again.

It would take more to reunite the people. America has lost our trust, she betrayed us. She turned her back on us and walked away. We would have to question her motives for her return. Why after all this time she would return? From the very beginning we labeled America as a hero. We even used the words, ‘Greatest country in the history of the World’.

Yet America was not a person. She was not even human. We expected a concept to share the same feelings, emotions, beliefs and principles. Were the words truth and justice a second language to America? Perhaps, we were fools to believe she would understand the true meaning of words such as trust, loyalty or love.

What is a hero anyway? Does one have to have superpowers, special abilities or incredible talent to be a considerable one? Well that's what we’ve been led to believe. America led us to forget our real heroes. What happened to the firemen, policemen, teachers, social workers or local figure that used to be considered a hero in our communities?

Each and every day of the year, firemen come to the rescue of those in need. They are brave woman and men who serve communities with courage and uncompromising devotion to humanity.

These people are not just doing their job, they are the heroes who take each task to heart and each life saved is a victory for their team. Because of their selfless bravery and heroism, many fire-fighters sacrifice their own lives to save others every day. Their actions will never been forgotten.

In cities, towns and villages around the world, legions of teachers spend every day protecting the minds, souls and spirits of children. They commit their lives to the development of the world’s most precious resource. A child's mind thirsts for knowledge.

It is this knowledge, the knowledge imparted to the youth that has given rise to the great man and women of history. ‘Knowledge’ gave birth to civilizations and is the foundation of nations including America.

Teachers strive daily with little recognition to help each child become the best they can. Teachers are heroes, our future lies in their hands. These are examples of every day men and women. Men and women are heroes, not countries. Countries are people.

America was not just our hero. America was a super- country. Why isn’t she living up to her name? She was so much more than a mere mortal. Imagine a future with this super- country- a future that was stolen from us. The world welcomed America with open arms and why wouldn't they? Day after day we saw the effect she was having. Crime plummeted, natural disasters were averted, wars were ended, and the impossible became possible around the World. What was more remarkable and often overlooked was that she wasn't just saving people’s lives, she was changing them – over there.

America gave us hope, she set an example and over the years we started following that example whether we realized it or not. Wars were stopped, all political, religious feuds set aside, even volunteering and charitable donations increased. For the first time in history we saw the closest thing mankind could call peace. And to think it took America to show us what it meant to be human.
Unfortunately the one thing that reduces a miracle to the mundane is a world full of them.
Once everything is special, nothing is special. In a world where America would suddenly appear to save someone from a natural disaster or divert a flood, there were no miracles.
We stopped looking both ways to cross the street. We didn't have to because if a car was about to hit us odds were that she would zip at the last moment and save us. Soon we didn't even remember how to look both ways.

We lost our survival instincts. We became careless, which wouldn't have really been a problem, but then America left. It stopped giving it’s family support.

Just as mysteriously as she appeared, she was gone, without warning, without explanation. We looked to the sky and for the first time in years no one was there. Some panicked thinking the worst had finally come to pass and someone has finally discovered a weakness and exploited it.

Others held steadfast believing that America’s sudden absence must have a logical explanation. Perhaps this was a test. Maybe she was watching from over there and gauging our reaction. Hundreds, if not thousands of ideas and theories sprang from every expert and government official but no answer could satisfy us. Maybe there was no answer. Maybe she’s just…gone.

In fact maybe it’s better that America is gone. How can we be expected to appreciate the good without the bad? Through suffering do we not gain strength?

Having relied on an almost omnipotent savior for years, we’ve forgotten how to rely on ourselves. America gave us strength, but with it, weakness. In his absence, we must learn to unite and find strength in one another. We must look not to the skies; instead we must look inside ourselves to find trust, love and friendship for one another. Peace is our champion, not a Country of Steel.

Alas crime has skyrocketed, stocks plummeted and old wars have been rekindled. The peace America inspired over the years, seemed to end overnight, replaced by fear,, confusion and betrayal. Even worse problems once held by our own; now seem insurmountable without America’s help.

It is 11 years this month that we witnessed one of the worst terrorist’s attacks in our history. Among the many dead, are those that touched all of our lives. The nation's press release said that all that was left was a mangled mess of metal and bodies. Recovery workers and civilians united and worked around the clock, in the hope of finding just one survivor, if any. But hope was given up, when days later they could raise no sound.

The twin towers left a huge gorge in the New York City landscape where now stands a tribute to those who died in the wreckage. Among those attending the memorial service, is the husband and father of a deceased mother and their unborn child. To this day he is haunted by the memories of the past. Through his suffering he speaks the voice of many Americans: How could America let this happen? Curse you America...

These words echo amongst the people, reaching the far corners of the globe. In five years we have seen the oceans rise and kill hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children throughout Asia.

We have seen civil wars destroy cities throughout the world and religious feuds wipe our nations. Let the color of the stripes in America’s flag cape remind us of the innocent people who have died for it is their blood that is on America’s hands.

In the past we have turned to God, in times of need we prayed. For years we have prayed for you America, “please bring back our savior.” The nation knelt before the alter and begged for your return.

We were blinded by your arrival, our faith misguided. For many of us, America became our God. We only had to read the motto on our nation’s currency to be reminded of the truth – In God We Trust.

These words passed between our hands countless times a day, yet we still managed to forget. We put our trust, not in God, but in America – In America We Trust.

We trusted you, we all trusted you…I trusted you. Does America feel remorse, guilt or shame? Does she simply not care? Perhaps the people of the United States are but a distant memory, a single snapshot lost in a mind that is timeless.

Does America cry for the children who have died on her watch? Perhaps she really is a Country of Steel – cold, emotionless and hardened by her own immortality. Would America say, “Sorry”?

Ultimately we are better off without America. It is true; we will come to endure hardship in her absence.

We will see more famine, environmental disasters, crime, wars and bloodshed. But what is also true, is that the people of America will always, without falter, and without abandoning their posts, continue to strive for truth, justice and the American way.

Leaving the fate of our humanity in the hands of one country would have been a terrible mistake. If we don’t learn to settle our grievances on our own we are doomed anyway.

We became dependent on someone unreliable; in fact America did us a favor by leaving. Now we can learn to fend for ourselves, learn to work out our differences regardless of whether they are based on race, creed, gender or political view.

Ultimately we will unite and establish peace around the globe. If America had stayed we would never accomplish this. Under the surface there would have remained traces of a corrupt society, a seed that would grow if it wasn’t for America’s flag blocking the sunlight.

Now that she is gone, the seed is left to grow, yet there is hope. For like a rose, we always see the thorns before the flower. We will blossom and when we do, we will have done it alone; we will have a world united.

People have always longed for God, messiahs and saviors to swoop down from the sky and deliver them from their troubles but in the end these saviors always leave and we are faced with the same troubles that were here from the beginning.

We wait for our savior’s return though it will never happen and we realize it was better had America never come at all."

http://www.comicscommunity.com/boards/alvin/?frames=n;read=1427&expand=1