What better subject to talk about on the 4th of July than Captain America. I mean, there's nothing more flag waving than this comic character, right? Sure Canada has their share of heroes and England has Excalibur, but Captain America is as American as apple pie. It's only a shame people have no fucking clue on what makes Steve Rogers the perfect representation of this country.
A lot of concern has been carried over about how such a hero would play in other countries, when we're currently fighting five "wars" and the American death count in Iraqi is at an all time high long after "combat has ended". But those folks need not worry. Captain America isn't such a red neck character as you think he is.
I believe this comic is much more appropriate today in our modern political climate, especially in regards to our war policies than when it first was printed.
It's very difficult to convince people that Captain America isn't just some jingoistic, violent, Duke Nukem/Rambo/Team America-style asshole. In fact, as a skinny, sickly, lower-middle class kid from Brooklyn, he was an artist before attempting to enlist in the Army. A muralist who worked with President Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration. A program that right-wingers today would point to as America's descent into hated socialism.
He only enlisted because he saw evil in the world, and fighting it was the right and decent thing to do. Then, irony of ironies, this humble character who was created by a Jewish writer and artist, became Aryan Ubermensch. The peak in ultimate physical specimen. A blond-haired and blue-eyed super soldier. Only he existed to fight the Nazis and stand up for the American way of life: melting pot, liberty and justice for all...
Odd how we're resentful these days to the melting pot aspect, our liberties are being taken away one by one by ourselves and that justice for all has become a justice for the rich. So whenever people complain that Captain America is some kind of flag-waving meat head, I just look at them and wonder if they totally missed the whole point of the character.
He's nothing like his Ultimate's counter part. Who is everything that they think Captain America is. Like that awful "Do you think this A stands for France?" bullshit.
So that's why today, on this star spangled celebration, perhaps we should look at who carries that shield and think of him in the correct manner.
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