Something has happened to love. Over the course of history, it has gotten distilled.
Sanskrit has 96 words for love; ancient Persian has 80; Greek has 3; and English has only 1. Modern man continues to experience an infinite variety of emotional states, but a single 4-letter word has taken them all upon its back.
Crossposted with full artwork on Full Body Transplant.
That is a heavy responsibility for such a little word. Love is strong; it does not shy away from the challenge. Love is alive today in every place on Earth. We can even find it flourishing in Vs. System.
Vs. System is a trading card game blueprint that builds its walls with myth. Comic book superheroes provide the most powerful and longest-lasting myths of history’s Modern Age. Our pulp-based heroes and villains do not command our worship, but they do command our attention.
If we want to remember what it was like to honor myths as deities and partners, we simply need to look to Ancient Greece. During that age, people didn’t just play on the kitchen table with cardboard representations of their heroes—they interacted with them directly.
Although we have, for the most part, lost our belief in the power of mythological gods and goddesses, we still derive hours of entertainment from our modern imaginary superheroes—and they still get frisky when it comes to love.
That introduction was written for Valentines Day two years ago on the mothership. This morning I was inspired to dig it up in honor of a real-life superhero couple that is on the verge of saving the day for the whole world.
Vidya Rao has written a spectacular article for NBC's Today Show website, documenting the overwhelming sense of revolutionary love that we have been getting ever since Barack and Michelle Obama first burst into the public spotlight together during the Democratic primaries.
It started with the fist bump seen ’round the world. Soon there were stories of rousing family Scrabble battles and date nights, in spite of election mayhem. Then President-elect Barack Obama referred to his wife Michelle as "the love of my life" during his election night victory speech, embracing her tightly and kissing her afterwards, while millions of people worldwide watched.
"They took a moment to face each other, to kiss and hold one another, regardless of the magnitude and spectacle of the night," said Camille Washington, a Bay Area blogger on Soulbounce.com, a music and culture site. "That says a lot."
The Obamas represent a welcome change as an openly affectionate and romantic couple for many Americans. Some experts say that the soon-to-be first couple embody the ideal healthy relationship, and that they can stir up love around the country.
"Michelle and Barack are so obviously in love it's actually helping me to believe in love again."
We could not agree more, and it is one of the main reasons we put everything we had into getting these superheroes into the White House. Sure, they are just people like you and me, but they will be role models for an entire planet... and beyond.
Kathlyn Hendricks, author of several books including "Conscious Loving" and "Lasting Love.", says...
"The model of harmony, shared humor and easy communication that the Obamas reveal really is a new model — if ordinary citizens practiced this each day, our world would transform very quickly in positive directions."
It is, perhaps, the most exciting part of the Legacy Content being created by our new President-Elect. Love returns to the highest office in the world, and its healing power washes over every human being. If the aliens are watching, they will surely see a change in the energy field. Which leads me to a question.
Which comic book characters have the healthiest relationships, and what superheroes do Barack and Michelle Obama most closely embody with their love?