at about four years of age, i identified as batman. to support my new identity, my frugal and loving father fashioned heavy lining garbage bags to make my mask and cape. my costume was completed with a shirt which said “batman.” frugality meant there would be no utility belt or boots. my batmobile would be the precious matchbox miniature car from 1966. sadly, i would only get a knock off of the original.
when we moved to the westside, so did my superhero status. fueled by adam west’s campy version of “batman” and the superman, batman & aquaman hour i was ready to take on bad doers. na na na na- na na na na batman! sock! pow! the theme song from batman still is epic. on the westside, i joined forces with a classmate and fellow crime fighter. we were determined to fight crime were, in reality, there was none. at his house, the basement was converted into the bat cave which consisted of a file. as there were no computers back then, we were going to make note cards to fight for justice. this was serious stuff.
the batman identify soon began to fade. despite our friendship, in our hearts we both knew that only one of us could be batman. the tension was further escalated by puberty. we both had a crush on the same girl. to maintain our friendship, batman faded away and our intensity was spent watching the old black and white george reaves’ superman show that was aired after school got out.
while the author frankl looked for man’s sense of meaning, modern society is challenged with man sense of identity. my best friend and i made it out of adolescence and became husbands and fathers. we both took on the achievable identities. as society has changed with individuals are choosing to not get married, and children being sterilized for the sake of gender identity, the once universal identities of being spouses and parents no longer either achievable or encouraged.
achievable identities in life and meaning in life are not necessarily aligned with each other. people, for self satisfaction, are now feigning or taking on identities for the sake of attention and enrichment. a recent article exposed how some paralympic athletes may be exaggerating their impairments so they can compete. gender identity has allowed trans athletes to dominate biological females in competition. people take on fake identities to get an advantage with education or employment opportunities. our identity based society has a bi-product of encouraging dishonesty.
ironically, the call of “truth, justice, and the american way” that was heard by my friend and eye while huddled around watching superman is on life support in our society. those with the superman franchise even dismantled it from a movie.
the reality is that there are achievable identities. there are even ones which we are allowed to pretend. with passover, we are all encouraged to take on the role of being both a slave and a free person. in this moment, both meaning and identity coincide. achieving understanding and compassion for those who suffer from bondage and the emotional exuberance of freedom.
be well!!
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