What's morality?

Class discussion on Friday was pretty great. The article that my group and I focused on the most was the Layman article "Why be Moral?" There was a specific idea that stuck with me really well. Throughout the article the question seemed more to ask, Why be a superhero? Someone mentioned in class that doing the moral thing seems to be a burden, and i agree. Why would someone go out of their way to do the right thing even if it is sometimes dangerous? From that I would further ask why someone who doesn't have superpowers would ever go out of their way to do something that is moral. Some say that doing good things is just the "right thing to do." I would agree with that if there was a more concrete definition of what is right and what is wrong, and that delves deeper into what my group and I started to talk about in class. Where do we get our definition of morality? Does it differ from others depending on geographic location? culture? or is it something else entirely? The only one of the reasons that Layman gives for being moral that makes sense to me is "It pays off in the long run (with long run meaning afterlife)." The only reason it makes sense to me, is because it is something that I have heard time and time again in church services as a kid and all of the bible study classes I had to take.

Secret identity is of great significance to most superheroes because it is how they protect themselves and their loved ones. This is seen most clearly through the Superman character. Superman is a humanoid with super strength, great intelligence, and other super awesome powers. To protect himself and family he becomes the clumsy Clark Kent, and later of course he keeps his secret identity to protect Lois from any harm. The same can be said for Spider man and other superheroes. I think we all have different identities in a sense. Everyone has a presenting self and an actual self at the very least. I tend to be somewhat professional in my conversations with certain professors and staff at the college and some members of the Monmouth community. Of course with people I am more familiar with (friends, family, etc.) I'm a little less professional. My different identities are not complete opposites or anything by any means, but they do have some differences. I usually bite my tongue on a lot of issues that bug me or cut down on my sarcastic humor with people I work with or have a professional relationship with, but with my friends and family I'm usually pretty blunt with whatever I have to say. I'm only human so of course I slip up every now and again, so to try to prevent it from happening I let each of my identities mix together in certain relationships I have. This has been a beneficial plan of action because it allows me to build stronger relationships with the people I interact with on a daily basis.

How to pick a favorite

I can't say that I've been an avid comic reader or a super follower of any particular super heroes, but I've dabbled in a few comics and watched a few movies which ended up being enough to pick Spider-Man as my favorite super hero. Spider-Man, as mentioned in the documentary, is probably one of the best superheroes that identifies most with the problems of teenagers. I had watched a number of different animated versions of Spider-Man (The Amazing Spiderman, Spider-Man and his amazing friends, etc) when I was a kid, and then when I was about fourteen or fifteen years old, I started reading some Spider-Man comics. 

The web-slinger and I had a lot in common when I was going through high school, and I don't mean the getting bitten by a radioactive spider part. I got bit by a spider, but it wasn't radioactive....unfortunately. The thing that sets Spider-Man apart from all the other superheroes in my mind, is that he seemed to be going through the same normal problems I had been going through at the time. I was the kid who would get picked on from other students, had some relationship issues, and even my situation at home was a little weird. I developed a connection with this character over time and, as weird as it may seem, turned to the comics as an escape from my own problems during school. 

When I was younger, my friends and I constantly played our imaginative game of superheroes. Some of my friends would argue over who would be which super hero, some chose Iron Man, some argued over being the Incredible Hulk, but I was always Spider-Man. We'd chase imaginary foes around for hours on end, and protect the damsel in distress. We would always add in a hint of drama into our heroes' respective lives. The popular hypothetical situation for me as Spider-Man would always consist of Mary Jane or Aunt May getting captured and having to pull of a rescue mission. 

Building off of what Loeb & Morris said in their article, living by the values or beliefs of Spider-Man would definitely assist me in making some better life decisions. The famous line from Uncle Ben, "With great power comes great responsibility" resonates with Spider-Man both in his crime fighting and in his own personal life. Having the conscience or moral judgement that Spider-Man has and applying it to my own life would definitely be a good life tool. I feel that it would provide a better understanding of my own problems, and create a path towards making the right decision from the wrong one.