A lot has happened in the world since we last spoke. Madmen in the halls of political and technological power appear hellbent on turning the world towards a darker future.
It’s at times like these when I remember the men and women I looked up to as a child:
Fred Rogers, so said to look for the helpers.
LeVar Burton, who demonstrated the power and joy of reading.
Bill Nye, who showed how to think critically.
Lynne Thigpen, who emphasized investigation.
Kate Mulgrew, who defined leadership.
And, for a comic book reader like myself, Stan Lee, who–among other things–used his soapbox for good.
Case in point, an excerpt from Stan’s Soapbox, from X-Men #56, 1969, that still resonates today:
“[C]onsider the practitioners of hate who have sullied the pages of history. Who still venerates their words? Where is homage still paid to their memory? What banners are still raised to their cause? The power of love — and the power of hate. Which is most truly enduring? When you tend to despair . . . let the answer sustain you. Excelsior!”
Excelsior, indeed.
E.S. Raye