Believe.
In.
Heroes.
Those three words sat on a T-shirt. And I stopped. And I stared. And my heart stuttered with a realization.
We’ve stopped believing in heroes.
The last Captain America movie. Batman vs. Superman. Suddenly we’re questioning the motives of these caped wonders, when once we cheered. Suddenly we’re trying to put rules on them instead of accepting what they do.
Who are we to control them? To control anyone?
We fear our world is spinning out of control, so we reach for a way to tighten our grip.
We aren’t looking for heroes. We’re looking for bad guys, for people to blame.
We scream…
SCREAM…
SCREAM…
Into the void that is the Internet. We call for change. We point fingers and demand everyone see the world the way we see it…for everyone to hear every idea we pour into the world from our tired, tattered minds.
And we think we can magically make everyone agree with us.
Everyone’s minds are twisted with rage at so many things. Different things. So we yell louder about the injustices that matter to us, about the help that is needed, about the change that must happen.
But no one is listening. All the crying opinions have become a chaotic ball of noise, a giant, scary wad of “You’re wrong and I’m right!”.
The fact that there is no wrong and no right has been forgotten, lost to the darkness of blame. The world has been turned upside down with terrible events, and people have been drowning in sadness and frustration and fear. There are no heroes coming to save us. And even if they did, would they do it the correct way? Who gets to decide?
Life is a series of moments. People act in those moments, choosing the way that works best for them, choosing based on their emotions, their beliefs, their strengths and weaknesses, on what will help them and the ones they love.
This makes us Human.
Later we analyze, we judge, we go through every scenario and decide how situations should have been handled. We find all the faults. We argue. We yell. We scream.
How does this help?
Things happen. And there is no one to blame. For if people act out of desire to help, and they do the best they can, should we place the weight of what went wrong on their shoulders?
Sometimes we need to pick ourselves up and move on.
Without judgement.
Without analyzing.
Without screaming.
Without trying to control every bit of life.
But with listening. People were affected, emotionally changed. Help them find a light in the dark.
With support. Instead of screaming at how things were handled wrong, tend to the mental state of the people involved. Understand what they were thinking, what they were feeling, and why they acted the way they did.
The truth is…
We can’t control everything and not everyone acts with good intentions.
And no one will agree. Ever.
Utopia will only work if everyone gets their own because everyone’s idea of perfection is different. Who are we to decide what’s right for the entire world?
Let’s remember that we’re all Human, that we’re all looking for the same things. To be happy. To find our place in the world. To surround ourselves with people and things we love. That’s enough. The rest of the world will never be that wonderful magical place of perfection you envision. Make your part of the world that place, allow others to have theirs. To be accepted, you must accept.
Let’s remember that this is not the first time in the history of our race (the Human race) that there has been violence, been fear, been hate and a cry for help. We will survive. We will get stronger. And, yes, we will repeat the lessons over and over again.
Humans. We are beautiful, wrapped in all our flaws and crazy emotions.
Believe.
In.
Heroes.
But don’t look for them.
Be.
That.
Hero.
Kathleen Palm 