C6: Hope

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The Superman analogy

Surely Superman is invincible? He is far
stronger than any living person and his
body is undamageable. For over fifty years
he has appeared in comic strips, TV shows and
films, and yet he always seems to be in trouble! Why is he so interesting? He can't possibly lose a fight so what can be his problems? The answer is a useful metaphor for what this chapter is talking about. Though Superman is invincible, he cares. He values the humans he shares the Earth with. Especially the population of Metropolis which is his home city, and especially his fellow workers at 'The Daily Planet' newspaper where he works, disguised as Clark Kent. He cares in concentric circles just like the rest of us and he desperately puts himself on the line time and again for his human friends.

The point is that Superman cares more about human relationships than he does about his own power. He doesn't even need humans and he still cares for them! Superman is a made up character and his inventors invested him with many qualities. But it seems that his human qualities are even more essential than his superhuman ones. He is more man than super. This is because the ability to build and share relationships is more essential to identity than personal power or strength. This is so ingrained in the way we think that even when we invent a character who by rights should not care about human relationships - he still does!

Memories of Pesach

The festival of freedom is a great lesson in identity. When a Jew experiences Seder night, they are becoming part of their people, sharing in its wonderful stories, memories, dreams and hopes. The exact historical details of the Exodus (i.e. the going out of Egypt) have been lost, but Seder night is not about history, it is about memory. On Pesach, the story of the Jewish people becomes your story. As the leader of the Seder lifts up the matzah and declares: 'This is the bread of affliction which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt', everyone present is transported across more than three millennia as ancient events become real and as they become our own. We take that story go forward, knowing that we too are part of the same journey, towards freedom, away from tyranny, and that on the way we have to recognise affliction when we see it and learn to overcome it, in faith and together. This is moral education, a process of learning who we are. Pesach is the handing down of Jewish memory across the generations.

Pesach is thus a great example of how a religious community passes on its traditions. Seder night does not feel like education and that is the whole point! So too, the wider society must find ways of passing on its values. This can be done through encouraging local traditions and communal activities. Pesach-type education needs more than schools, it needs families and caring relationships - the heart of civil society.

Change the world!

A story: Rabbi Israel Salanter once said: When I was young, I wanted to change the world. I tried but the world did not change. I thought then to change my country, but I failed that too. So I concentrated on changing my town, but my town did not change. Then I turned to my family, but my family did not change. Then I realised: first I must change myself.

TalkWorks

This is the name of a British Telecom initiative to help people become better communicators by providing a range of publications and learning materials. Some research shows that over half the people in Britain want to be better communicators and that's what 'TalkWorks' is all about. We could cynically see this as a very sophisticated marketing ploy but, reading the material, it looks like a worthwhile exercise. Their pamphlets are about how to have friendlier and more understanding conversations and encourage you to think about the art of communication. They even give you some freephone numbers which you can call up to hear these kind of conversations being acted out! (check it out: 0800 700 921/2/3...930)

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