Does Superman Hate DHS?
Superman is one of the most iconic characters in popular culture, the fictional embodiment of “truth, justice, and the American way”. But the rise of a homeland security apparatus capable of monitoring every aspect of our modern lives raises the question of what exactly is the “American way”. It goes without saying that the non-stop, media soaked and Internet obsessed world of 2016 is an eternity away from the sedate America that gave birth to the “big blue boyscout”, which raises the question what would “Supes” think about the rise of Homeland Security? Here is a rundown of how the Superman might view the United States’s current homeland security efforts.
Privacy Rights
Superman clearly cared about privacy. I mean this is a guy who lived in “the fortress of solitude”, suggesting he would be less than enthusiastic about reports that the Federal government is overcollecting data on the public. In all likelihood attempts to surreptitiously collect data on Superman would appear before a US FISA court since he is what amounts to a living weapon of mass destruction. And while that is understandable from the Federal perspective, it is doubtful Superman would appreciate being the target of government surveillance.
Immigration
Superman holds the record for longest distance travelled by an undocumented alien — he wasn’t even from this planet. Although Supes was strictly a law and order guy, he might just agree with the lax enforcement of immigration policies for law abiding immigrants.
Airport Scans
Last year the TSA failed 95% of security tests in America’s airports. Having been born with X-Ray vision Superman would likely be baffled by the TSAs inability to find the majority of weapons and explosives as they passed through the scanners.
Drone Strikes
Whether you agree with drone strikes or not, the simple fact is that our strikes have resulted in significant collateral damage overseas. Given Superman’s penchant for protecting human life it is unlikely he would support this level of destruction.
Emergency Preparedness
Superman understands the importance of emergency preparedness, after all the only reason he is the last surviving son of Krypton is because the House of El had an Emergency Preparedness kit (which on Krypton included an intergalactic shuttle). The emphasis the Federal Emergency Management Agency places on building citizen preparedness would likely get Superman’s approval.
Cybersecurity
The Fortress of Solitude hosted one of the DC world’s most advanced computational arrays, an hyper advanced system based on crystal technology (which in an odd twist of events seems to be an extremely effective solution to data storage). Superman’s personal intranet was surprisingly resistant to penetration, suggesting the Kryptonians invested significant amounts of funding in protecting their networks. Which is pretty much the polar opposite of DHS Cybersecurity efforts.
So from Superman’s perspective the United States homeland security strategy is succeeding in 3 of 6 arenas where DHS plays a key role. While it might be a stretch to say that Superman would hate DHS for its policies, when Clark Kent receives his 2016 federal tax bill he might just need to bench press a few mountain ranges to burn off a disquieting sense that something just isn’t right in Metropolis.
