The Pendragon's Hall

The Pendragon saw the movie "Spiderman 3" this past week (I know I am woefully behind the times but it's hard to get away). As in all the Spiderman movies, there was a central theme. This one was: You always have a choice to do the right thing. In the end, confronted with a criminal who became an outlaw to get money for his dying daughter, the criminal complains, "I didn't want this to happen, but my daughter is dying. I had no choice." The look of compassion on Spiderman's face made the Pendragon a little wary, thinking perhaps he was going to let the guy off. But the superhero replied staunchly, "You always have a choice. You can always do the right thing." This is a lesson brought home to Spiderman himself when he is offered the chance to live the life of a loner dedicated to vengeance, or to fight for justice. In these movies, the criminal is always wrong, but Spiderman always realizes how fine a line separates him from the underworld. This is a very healthy worldview to promote: "There but for the grace of God go I." This is not the same as suggesting the criminals are somehow innocent victims in all this, but it does teach a moral responsibility for men to choose to do the right thing even when it hurts, to give up their own desires to serve the good of others, and to accept the responsibility that comes with great power. The Pendragon is duly impressed by the Christian worldview presented in these superhero movies and strongly encourage my readers to see them all. We need more stories like Spiderman.

In political news, what do you want to bet Michael Bloomberg is the new hero of the Left for leaping from Republican to Independent? When Democrats do it, they become persona non grata. When Republicans do it, they are hailed for bravery. Of course, the difference between a lapsed Democrat like Joe Lieberman and a lapsed Republican like Jim Jeffords is that the lapsed Democrats still have a prayer of being elected.