In the popular conception of a Superhero, the main definition is of a person who does good in the defense of the defenseless, lending strength to those that need strength, and to fight evil. I’d say that is all well and good, but in a real, mature world such as we live in, nobody is perfect. The discernment of Right vs. Wrong is a tricky thing, and a learned skill.
Think about it: When a human being is born, they are primarily a blank slate. Sure they know their mother’s voice, and perhaps their father’s. But babies have no conception of ethics and morality, or a sense of sacrifice for others. In fact, that last part, they’re not only not empathetic, they’re needy and selfish. Of course, that’s what they’re supposed to be, because they are helpless. Mom and Dad are the heroes from day one. They make the sacrifices, provide protection, and lend what physical acumen they have to their child to bring it into maturity.
Of course, babies grow into children, children into adolescents, and into teens, then adulthood. Along the way they learn many things, and assuming they’ve been taught well and not taught by psychotics, they have a sense of “Right” and “Wrong”, with a bias towards “Right”. Such conditions are not universally true, but extremely common. All that said, I’m being very specific when I talk about bias, and not absolutes. There was only one man with the skills to know absolute Right vs. Wrong, and he lived two millennia ago. The rest of us have to try our best, and sometimes fail. And we always fail more than we want.
I know for myself that my main internal villain is a penchant towards sloth. Being lazy is, in itself, a selfish act. If you intend to bring value to the world, be a defender to your fellow humans, giving less than your all when your all is sorely needed, you’ve chosen poorly. Certainly, that’s not the only wrong thing that I’ve done in my life. And it all gnaws at me.
So, one of my metrics is to improve my sense of Right vs. Wrong. I ask myself every day:
“Is the next decision I make right or wrong?”
I will challenge myself to make the right decision, and act with right-headed purpose.