The Day Superman Died.

I was sitting in church yesterday and the worship leader made some reference to Jesus as being our "Superman". Right then and there, it got me to thinking about today's post.

George Reeves. Look at those "padded" muscles, able
to bend steel bars with his bare hands!

I grew up with Superman. When I was a little kid, I watched Superman on  black & white TV (that's pretty much all there was). In the television series, Superman was played by George Reeves. Even as a kid, me and my friends thought he looked too old and his phony muscles came from the poorly-padded costume that he wore. Still, I was a faithful fan of the old Superman TV series, and rediscovered it in color in the 1960s.

I also remember the day Superman died. June 16, 1959 from a gunshot wound to the head. From the description at the time, it was an apparent suicide. My comic book hero was dead. Unbelievable! Some of the innocence of my childhood died that day as well. The realization hit me that my TV heroes were flawed individuals who had the same struggles as me, maybe more so because they were continually forced into a TV personna that was so disconnected from their everyday life. This truth was brought home again this past summer with the tragic death of Cory Monteith from Glee. Who would have imagined that this handsome young actor would die alone in a Vancouver, BC hotel from a drug overdose?

The sad irony is that George Reeves played a character on TV who always came to the rescue in the nick of time, to save ordinary people from the clutches of death and despair. But in real life, when the actor, George Reeves, faced that same dilemma, he felt like he was alone with no one to save him. I wish he could have met the real Superman--the one who saved me just a few years later.

I did meet the real superman about four years after the death of George Reeves. This Superman came to earth to save mankind and like the comic book hero, he too started his public mission at age 30. The Superman I'm referring to is Jesus Christ. I found him at the L.A. Coliseum on a Thursday night in September 1963. I wasn't even looking for him, but he came knocking on my door as I was seated in the top row of the Coliseum. My heart was pounding and he had my attention.

This Superman, Jesus, the Messiah, was and is the true hero. He's able to do a whole lot more than leap tall buildings in a single bound, or bend steel with his bare hands. He set me free from the guilt of my sins. He offered me forgiveness and a new life. I don't have to wait for him to find a phone booth to change out of his street clothes into his "outfit". This superman lives inside of me by his spirit. He's with me 24/7. He directs my steps. As the Psalmist says, "...he leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul."

Kirsten Powers, Reluctant Follower of Jesus the Messiah

This past week I read the story of someone else who met "Superman", aka Jesus, the Messiah. Kirsten Powers, columnist for the Daily Beast and Fox News contributor and analyst writes in the latest issue of Christianity Today about how she became a reluctant follower of Jesus the Messiah. She says,

After college I worked as an appointee in the Clinton administration from 1992 toy 1998. The White House surrounded me with intellectual people who, if they had any deep faith in God, never expressed it. Later, when I moved to New York, where I worked in Democratic politics, my world became aggressively secular. Everyone I knew was politically left-leaning, and my group of friends was overwhelmingly atheist.

As she herself puts it, she was "creeped out" by evangelical Christians whom she derided as anti-intellectual bigots. But God knew her address and knew how to get her attention. The hound of heaven tracked her down while on a trip to Taiwan. He came to her in a dream, and her life hasn't been the same since. (Read all of Kirsten Powers' story: "Highly Reluctant Jesus Follower" at Christianity Today).

This Superman, Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6) is at work today opening blind eyes of those who may hate him or despise his followers. Because He is the God of mercy, He delights in revealing Himself to those who are his supposed enemies.

Jesus is showing himself to Muslims and people of other faiths every day in dreams and visions. He is the one true Superman who has come to earth to save mankind, to save us from our sins and to bring us into a relationship with God, the Father. It's not about going to heaven--it's about knowing the one true God, the One who is the creator of heaven and earth, and his purpose for our lives right here and now!

170 languages spoken in the NYC public school system: Multiculturalism run amok!!!

I've always wanted to visit Sweden, but now I discover I can immigrate to Sweden and they'll provide for my needs with food, medical care and free housing. What a deal! This must be paradise. No...this is multi-culturalism, Swedish-style!

Stockholm rocked by 5 nights of rioting

Recently, in Stockholm, Sweden, police have been called to quell riots where immigrants were torching cars with Molotov cocktails. When police and firefighters arrived, they were greeted with a barrage of rocks. Over 200 cars were set on fire as well as schools and other buildings. 

Welcome to multi-culturalism in Sweden, a perfect example of how to destroy a nation from

Over 200 cars torched in Stockholm rioting

within!

Not too many years ago, Sweden was among the most ethically-homogeneous nations. Today, ten-percent of its population is comprised of recent immigrants. 

Even though immigrant unemployment is high, these violent outbursts can't be blamed on any austerity measures. The Swedish government has poured billions into caring for its immigrants including free health care and other services. A family of four in Sweden is entitled to around $3000. in welfare benefits each month. Last year, every middle-school pupil in the public schools received a brand-new iPad. 

So why has Sweden failed to integrate new immigrants despite extraordinary tolerance and generosity? According to Tino Sanandaji, a Kurd immigrant growing up in Sweden from the age of 9, the answer lies in

Sweden's unconditional tolerance itself.

She writes in the National Review (Torching Utopia) that "Multiculturalism itself is an even bigger impediment to integration. Multiculturalism teaches that natives have no moral right to impose their culture on immigrants. Instead, immigrants are encouraged to cling to the culture of their home country. This approach impedes integration into both the Swedish way of life and the Swedish economy. The Swedish establishment has embraced multiculturalism perhaps more wholeheartedly than any other country has."

She goes on to say, "It is simply not true that Afghan culture equips one for success in the West as much as Swedish culture does. Some integration naturally occurs despite multiculturalism, but the overall failure is hard to deny. Even second-generation immigrants do not fully integrate, if we measure in terms of fundamental cultural traits such as interpersonal trust.

Making matters worse, multiculturalism morally privileges Third World cultures over Western culture. It preaches a modern version of original sin, damning Western civilization for historical crimes such as colonialism and racism."

Multi-culturalism has failed in Sweden and everywhere else. When we teach that all cultures are equal and need to be respected, we are falling prey to political-correctness. The culture of western Europe and America has made more contributions to the advancement of civilization than any other culture in the world. Visit Africa and ask them about their contributions to world civilization. 

Did Africa or the Muslim culture in the Middle East give us hospitals, universities, the Red Cross, penicillin, the automobile, the airplane, the telephone, the computer, modern drugs to fight disease and sickness? No, of course not. Did Africa or the Middle East defend the world from Hitler or Japan during WWII? Yet in our government-run schools today, teachers are educating our children to believe that the culture in Africa and Afghanistan is equal to that of the United States. In fact, our public school teachers and professors are purposely lying about America's achievements and contributions to the world and consistently portraying the U.S. as the worst civilization in world history.

In some university classrooms, the Taliban is held in greater esteem than U.S. culture which is castigated as the worst evil in the world, along with Israel and Christianity.

Finally, multi-culturalism is a failure because we are a nation comprised of individuals who wanted to come here because of the American dream, for freedom and liberty.

The glue that once held all the citizens of America together was their love for democracy and liberty. They knew that in America, they had a future and a hope. They didn't want to identify with the country they had left. They wanted to do whatever it took to become an American, and not a hyphenated American either.

But today, we are receiving a steady influx of immigrants who don't want to become Americans. They despise the American culture and want to identify with the country they left. They want to carve out their own little culture in the midst of American. This can be clearly seen in Dearborn, Michigan, which looks more and more like a Middle-eastern city.

Sadly, our government and our leaders think this is wonderful because they too have bought into the multi-cultural lie that we can be a nation of many cultures, where English is not necessary, such as in the NYC public school system where over 170 languages are spoken. Did you get that? 170 languages are spoken in the NYC public school system!! No wonder, nobody is getting an education and can't speak English or read or write. 

Instead of expecting people to learn English here in America, we are so accommodating: Press 1 for English; Press 2 for Spanish; Press 3 for Swingali; Press 4 for Arabic; Press 5 for Hindi; Press 6 for Portuguese; Press 7 for Russian; Press 8 for Hebrew; Press 9 for Chinese.......and you get the picture.

The torching of utopia that we are seeing in Sweden is headed our way. We have allowed too many immigrants to enter America in recent years without educating them concerning America's greatness and her contributions to the world. Instead, we downplay, minimize our greatness as though we are ashamed of all that we have done to liberate peoples around the world. 

For more insight into why multi-culturalism has failed in Sweden and is failing here as well, Read Tino Sanandaji's excellent article, Torching Utopia. 

Some are saying, "Just Get Over It!"

At the risk of wearing you out on "9-11" thoughts, please indulge me for one more post. The post today is a "guest post" from Mary Keenan-Sadlon, and first appeared in the Wall Street Journal.

There are some saying that we should "get over 9-11" and just move on with our lives.
Here is Mary's response to those individuals:

• I'll get over it when all the building is complete at the WTC w-i-t-h-o-u-t a mosque in the vicinity.
• I'll get over it when the concrete barricades are removed from in front of the White House.
• I'll get over it when our young men and women come home from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
• I'll get over it when I can fly again without being doused in radiation or have a goon put his hands down my pants.
• I'll get over it when the Director of Homeland Security stops profiling Conservatives and Christians as potential terrorists.
• I'll get over it when the terrorist trials are over and the guilty are immediately executed.
• I'll get over it when the so-called moderate Moslems in this country and elsewhere denounce terrorism and pledge allegiance to this country's law over Sharia law.
• I'll get over it when we have a new President who will stand with America and NOT "the Muslims."
• I'll get over it when I can sit in the living room of my apartment across the road from the Pentagon and look out of the window and wave at the pilots of the helicopters as they fly past my window to land at the Pentagon helo pad without thinking about the kids killed on Flight 77. How they must have screamed in fear.

Until then, I'll never get over it. I'll stay here in Chicago and let a stranger enjoy the view on Arlington Ridge.Justice for the living. Honor for the dead.

----From Mary Keenan-Sadlon.