If I go crazy will you still call me Superman?

Those of you that don't read comics may not be aware that Superman has recently rocked the comic world by turning in his US citizenship.

Why?

Because the world is smaller than it used to be. Because there is revolution and strife outside the United States that deserves attention. And because he's sick of being seen as a tool for US foreign polity.

This alien, the last son of a destroyed planet, who landed in Kansas, was raised by humans, and dedicated his life, and power, to saving humanity, but mostly Americans from various alien attacks and power grabs from megalomanic humans that wanted to be more than any human should be allowed to be.

And through it all he stated time and again that he fought for "truth, justice, and the American way".

But why?

Why is it in any way conceivable that this alien would put one nation on earth above all others, and use his might to preserve their place in the world? How, in his alien viewpoint could this nation be the greatest in the world and more deserving of his power than any other?

This is a question I've always asked myself about superman. Through the movies, the remake of the movie, Smallville, and the occasional glimpse of the comics, I've wondered why Martha and Jonathan Kent, who seem to be pretty grounded folks, would raise their alien son to be so short sighted about the world and encourage him to a tool for the government of a single country.

Why, when they knew the extent of his power, did his parents not encourage him to contact the UN and become a citizen of the world, as it were, rather than a citizen and tool for a single country?

With this latest story Superman steps back and becomes aware that there is so much more going on in the world that deserves his attention. He becomes aware of hundreds of thousands of protestors in the middle east peacefully taking a stand against the military while they cry out for social change.

And he made a choice to stand with them. For a whole day he took a stand for social change. Saying nothing, doing nothing, flowers laid at his feet, or being hit with fire, he stood and peacefully indicated his support for change. And the protest grew to the millions. All peacefully marching for change.

In that moment of peaceful protest he saw the world, and realised it was so much smaller than it had ever been.

And he was right.

This world we live in is rapidly outgrowing it's borders. While governments strive to keep their countries easily identifiable as THEIR countries, be they the strongest or weakest, richest or poorest, the citizens of the world are reaching out to each other. Through floods, earthquakes, tsunami, social change, peaceful protest, humanity communicates to each other through social media to send prayers and support.

Every day I communicate with people from around the globe. A concept that was totally alien 50 years ago. I can pick up my phone and find out what someone is having for breakfast in Tokyo, or what the weather is like in Sweden. I can send messages of support to student protesters in Egypt or prayers to those impacted by earthquakes in Japan. I can touch the lives, for a moment, of people thousands of kilometres away from me with ease and while I do this I give no thought to the policies of their governments or the borders that divide us.

And that is what the future should be.

As shown by the amazing writers of Superman we should all strive to be more than citizens of France, Australia, Japan, England or the USA. We should strive to see ourselves as citizens of the world. Representatives of humanity. We are a greater force than one country, we are a united people who want a greater place for future generations.

We seek to be one, as shown by the increasing use of sites like Twitter which we use to communicate globally, not just to people in our backyard.

The hope for the future of this planet, and the people living on it, is that we can step outside our national interests and make global changes to improve this planet for the people that live here. Environmental change, and social change, to give future generations a more stable future not rocked by war.

Some folks will see the latest Superman to be an attack on Americana. A change that will sully his past, and ruin his future. But to me this comic is a dramatic and beautiful message that we can all be better people. We can all see beyond our own borders and do more for the world if we see the bigger picture.

This is a message that should go beyond the covers of this book, be placed on billboards around the world, as a sign that if this great American icon can see beyond the red, white and blue, we all have the power to do the same.