Truth, Justice, and the American Way

DC Comics has rebooted its collection of Superhero comics.  This event would normally be of passing note in the annals of popular culture, but it presents us with a timely opportunity to remind ourselves of the enduring themes of these otherwise fictional characters.

Week after week, Superman fights "the never ending battle for Truth, Justice, and the American Way."

A lifetime of academic study offers us a little perspective on "Truth, Justice, and the American Way."

We learn from Mathematics, Philosophy, and Science that Truth is not only elusive, it's remarkable difficult to sort fact from fiction.  It's not enough to value Truth as a worthwhile objective; one must learn how to divine the Truth from amongst all the competing conjectures, hypotheses, and opinions.

Similarly, we learn that Justice is a complex and controversial concept.  Are we pursuing Retributive Justice or Restorative Justice?  One can spend a career exploring the subtleties of John Rawls' Theory of Justice.

As to the American Way, God only knows what that means.  Certainly the Republicans and the Democrats can't agree on what it means.  The Tao of Pooh seems to have little or nothing to do with the American Way.

I'm not convinced that we have an adequate understanding of Truth or Justice, and I despair of us ever coming to an agreement on what is meant by the American Way.