We live in deadly times with violence galore and chaos ruling the earth. The world is more dangerous than it's ever been, and things are only going downhill.
First of all, is that true? Second, if it is, what if I told you that at the same time there is some good going on that isn't getting as much attention.
What does it mean to be a superhero? Is it somebody with special powers? Is it somebody who swoops in and saves everything when things go bad? Or could it be anybody good who prevents bad things from happening in the first place?
Imagine if you built a bunch of time machines and sent all the most loving mothers back to when today's most chaos-causing people were just babies. And these mothers raised these babies with such love and compassion that these children grew up to be normal healthy people who never thought of doing anything tragic.
These mothers would have saved millions of lives by preventing countless dictators, terrorists, and criminals from ever even arising in the first place. These mothers would be superheroes.
Well, what if I told you that right now, even without time machines, millions of lives are already being saved every single day?
What if I told you that right this very instant there are already millions of amazing loving mothers across the world who love their children; who care for their children; who are guiding their children to become good people in the world? And are preventing contless future tragedies and disasters all the time?
What if I told you that every day because of good people all over the world millions of evil acts, deaths, and tragedies are already being prevented everywhere?
What if I told you that there are people out there like Stanislav Petrov, who during the Cold War received orders to launch nuclear missiles and chose not to and literally saved all our lives?
Or the scientists from decades ago who invented a polio vaccine so none of us have polio today?
What if I told you about the mechanics who tighten the bolts on our car wheels, so we don't crash into concrete walls?
Or people who spend their lives creating better building structural safety codes, so that buildings don't fall on our heads?
What about the teachers, who taught us how to read, so that we can read things like "stop," "danger," or "caution"?
Or the people who pilot planes safely, so we can travel the world and expand our minds?
The people who design traffic lights that prevent so many accidents from happening everyday?
All the chefs who cook our food well enough so that we don't get food poisoning?
What about my dog? That keeps me company so I don't feel too too lonely and do unhealthy things.
What is it mean to be a superhero? Is it somebody with special powers? Is it that dude with big muscles and superhuman strength that flies high in the sky?
Or is it a lot simpler than that? Maybe—maybe the real superheroes are already all around us, hidden, in plain sight, saving lives, all the time.
