One of things I used to enjoy (and still secretly enjoy) was reading comic books. Superman, Batman, Spiderman, X-Men,
Dr. Strange, the Hulk, were all friends to my imagination. In my lifetime, these imagined heroes sprung from paper to the big screen and became modernized to fit the active and instant-to-instant attention span of young people around the continent. I on the other hand, had the ability to use my overactive imagination to fill in the motions of Spiderman and mull over the primitive graphics that 1 was so fond of. Today, you have to see the movie several times in order to fully benefit from the intensive action scenes which last mere seconds or else wait for the DVD/video to come out to be able to play back missed scenes in slow motion several months down the line. Aggravating, isn’t it?
About a decade ago, an attempt was made to create a comic book hero out of the escapades of Chakabash (our man on the moon), in three languages no less. I saw the impressive graphics and marveled at the many adventures our own hero had, way back when man could communicate with animals and mysticism was commonplace. The most insidious type of villain known to mankind brought down our intrepid hero and he never did get to reach our home in time to save us from cultural diminishment. Yup, he was brought down by infighting, legalities and ownership, all wiles used by mercenary legal beagles, who play both sides until one side admits defeat. Somehow, as a result of this vicious melee, Chakabash became a prisoner of the corporate system and is probably languishing away in some file cabinet, awaiting the day his true owners come to his rescue.
Our Inuit counterparts, however, have had their share of superheroes in comic book format and even on television! He was called Super Shamu and he had some amazing abilities. He could hear children whispering in the dark shadows of an abandoned building, planning to sniff gasoline and he could come up with the most virtuous sayings to prevent children and their parents from doing wrong. In fact, he looked somewhat like somebody I see every morning in the mirror. So that is what a superhero ought to look like! That makes my day! In many ways, our people do not have any imaginary superheroes to rescue them when they are in trouble, or cannot make a right decision at the right time. We do not have comic book characters that have super powers to fight the evil ones who usurp our culture and humanity. We don’t even have our dose of Chakabash heroism on a regular basis, so whom do we look up to in times of need?
If you know of anyone who has ordinary powers and who does extraordinary feats of strength of character and is a positive role model, look up to them and face them directly. Study them to see if you have those hidden qualities that turn your average John or Jane Doe into your friendly neighborhood superhero and join the legion of aboriginal heroes! You don’t need a telephone booth (that is so passé) or even a cell phone to change into your guise, just be yourself and help others in their times of need. Be a hero…
