By Kathie MM
John Pavlovitz’s book, Hope and other superpowers: A life-affirming, love-defending, butt-kicking, world-saving manifesto, is an exuberant, energizing, exciting, and engaging pep talk—a get up and go, think positive, you can do it, nothing can stop you now pep talk. He asks the question, “What kind of person does the world need now?” and assures his readers that they fit the bill. Just think, he declares, “the world has always been transformed by fully ordinary people whose willingness to show up, to brave damage, and to risk failure yielded extraordinary results” (pp. xiii-xiv).
Pavlovitz threads references to popular superheroes from comic books and films throughout his book as goalposts for which ordinary people can aim. He notes, for example, that “we love it when our caped crusaders are pushed…to the very last thread of their final rope, because that makes their coming victory all the more thrilling….If we can see the redemptive value of all the horrible things we’ve walked through…maybe it can help us the next time we face a trial or feel forsaken….” (pp. 10-11).
Reflecting on the ways in which personal defeats and broken relationships and wonderful surprises can all make us stronger, Pavlovitz notes that recognizing the strengths that can grow out of adversity “means we can see others’ burdens and move to alleviate them….It means that we can walk boldly into the day believing we have something to give the world that it needs” (p. 11).
Pavlovitz suggests that like superheroes, ordinary people have their own special toolkits to help them fight against injustice. To prepare yourself to become an activist, he suggests that you 1) remember who you are and what you stand for, because you will have to face critics and adversaries who will try to belittle you; 2) transform the negativity—for example, instead of matching cruelty with cruelty, use your energy to find a way to get things done, sidestepping around your opponents; and 3) withdraw from the fray, take a rest, and recoup when you need to do so in order to pursue your goals.
What are your thoughts about Pavlovitz’s recommendations? Whom do you know personally who has taken on a righteous cause? Who has fought against local corruption, or polluting of the riverways, or bullying in the schools, or maltreatment of children? Please tell us about the “ordinary” superheroes you have known—including yourself.