Lileks is kind of tough on the politically correct naifs who castrated the most recent Superman film:

"We were always hesitant to include the term `American way' because the meaning of that today is somewhat uncertain," said co-writer Michael Dougherty. "I think when people say `American way,' they're actually talking about what the `American way' meant back in the '40s and '50s, which was something more noble and idealistic."

Ah. Of course. Well, in the '40s, the American Way included incinerating German cities, nuking Japan, installing occupying armies with remnants to this day, and imposing our form of government -- all the while referring to the enemy with hurtful ethnic slurs. All this plus forced relocation. If these actions are deemed noble and idealistic now, it'll be a handy sentiment the next time the U.S. gears up for total war.

But the inconstant left doesn't believe any of this is permissible in the service of a noble goal. The right, after all, can't lead the war on terror because they don't "walk the walk" on human rights: witness those POWs slaving away in the cane fields of Gitmo. Unless we lead by example, no one will choose the American Way. Never mind that the internment of the Japanese didn't keep the Germans -- or the Japanese, for that matter -- from following our example after World War II. (Note to the dense: The above is not an endorsement of internment. Just a reminder of which party has more practice.)

In 1966, an animated saturday morning series premeired on CBS; 'The New Adventures of Superman.' (Filmation studios) The opening pretty closely followed that of the George Reeves series, but in this instance, the voice-over used the phrase; "Truth, justice and freedom..."

http://www.supermanhomepage.com/tv/tv.php?topic=episode-guides/t-tnaos

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filmation

"Truth, justice, and freedom" sounds ok.

I get the feeling the current batch would have gone for "truth, justice, and affordable health insurance" if they had had the imagination...

(Has anyone mentioned the almost fanatical devotion to the pope yet?)

Oh, and btw, could you double-check the link in the original post? It just points to somewhere on transterrestrial.

I'd vote for 'Truth, justice and TANSTAAFL,' except that the third is redundant with the first two.

Phil,
what are you talking about, fanatical devotion to the Pope? In the context of Superman, how do we get the Pope involved?

The American Way must still mean something. We've got people breaking into the country and staying illegally to get some American Way!!

It doesn't mean anything to many actual AMERICANS is the problem we now have.

It's strange that on one hand the new Superman gives us "progressive" pap like "truth, justice, and all that stuff," but on the other hand, the movie itself is the most allegorically Christ-like interpretation of the Superman mythos yet put to film. The last third is incredibly brazen with its religiosity, and an entire sequence seems lifted from Gibson's "Passion of the Christ."

Steve: I know this is prob. late, but it's from an old Monty Python skit.