Truth, Justice, and Wokeness
Some heads exploded late last week, when DC Comics announced that Superman would have a new slogan going forward…instead of “Truth, Justice and the American Way”, instead the Man of Steel would fight for “Truth, Justice and a Better Tomorrow”.
Yet another example of political correct wokeness and indoctrination, some said. No doubt the change was inspired by that. But the history of the old slogan itself is full of political correctness.
In the earliest comic books, Superman fought for truth and justice…that’s all. Granted, that’s enough, but you get the idea. It was actually the Superman radio show in the early 1940s that first used the phrase “Truth, Justice and the American Way”. This was in the early days of World War II, and there was understandably a strong patriotic feeling across the country.
The slogan left the radio series after the war ended…but was revived for the Superman TV series in the 1950s, which starred Iowa native George Reeves in the title role. That’s where it really caught on…and keep in mind, we were fighting the Cold War then.
So in one respect, introduction of “…and the American Way” can be seen as politically correct language…just as when the comic books changed it during the turbulent 1960s to “Trust, Justice and Freedom”…which is pretty good, too, but understanding why the change was made is another example of political correctness.
Fast forward to earlier this year, when the Man of Steel subscribed to “Truth, Tolerance, and Justice”…that change was described as owing its origin to a mission Clark Kent’s father gave him in a 1948 Superman movie. Uh-huh, sure, it was.
Now, it’s all about “Truth, Justice and a Better Tomorrow”. Again, nothing exactly wrong with that…but it very much buys into the current anti-American narrative that makes it offensive. I can’t recall the last time I bought a comic book…probably never, actually. But I’m still adding that to the growing list of things that can be as woke as they want…without my money or support.
