BE CAPTAIN AMERICA IN EVERYDAY LIFE

Captain America is retired – long live Captain America. As a lifelong fan of the character (I’m old enough to remember the ridiculous 70s TV movies and to have tied a star-spangled Frisbee to my bicycle) I love to see Cap shirts on people everywhere I go.

What thrills me less is to see so much un-Cap-like behavior in public, whether it be out in the street or on the roads, in the political sphere, or even online.

I’ve thrown together a few things that have been on my mind recently – tips on what it means to be like Steve Rogers in everyday life.

Let’s get the bodybuilding part out of the way first, because it’s less important than you think.

Be physically strong. A quick Google search on ‘how to be Captain America’ leads to page after page of workout plans. Captain America was designed to be a literal super-soldier, which requires incredible strength. Most of us don’t have those kinds of jobs. Building up those levels of muscle is, for most people, a matter of aesthetics. Don’t get me wrong – you can, and should, be as strong as you feel you need to be, whether it’s to perform your daily work, to be of service to the people and institutions that are important to you, or simply to protect your body and mobility as you age. I believe a balanced, progressive strength training plan, along with good cardiovascular health, is an important part of life. But I believe that to stop there is a profound, and frequent, mistake.

This is why we should put more emphasis on the harder part – strength of character.

Practice integrity. Be careful how many and what promises you make, because you are obliged to keep them no matter what. This refers to more than just the times you say “I promise.” When you take a job, you’ve made the promise to give your best effort, to be punctual, to work the schedule you are given, and to abide by the company’s rules. You owe the same trustworthiness to your family, friends, roommates – anyone with whom you have a relationship. Keep your promises, and don’t make promises you can’t keep. There’s really hardly ever reason to lie.

Choose where your loyalty lies. Understand that you are part of any number of greater communities, the majority of which you yourself have chosen. Don’t undermine them. Stand by the people you care for, and don’t betray the institutions you believe in. The companions you choose and the institutions you elect to become or remain a part of are external expressions of your internal values. Remain loyal to them.

Be of service. If you see someone in a jam, help them through it. This is a level of service that will ultimately improve your environment. That said, don’t confuse ‘offering unsolicited advice’ with helpfulness. That kind of behavior usually stems from control issues on your part, which is fairly easily linked to deep-seated insecurity. Just look out for people in trouble, and if they would like help, help them.

Give people the benefit of the doubt. They may prove you wrong in the long run, but start off on the right foot by being friendly. If you are older than three, you have absolutely no excuse for being a dickhead. It will eventually come back to hit you in the head, much like a certain shield.

Don’t be rude. Manners are an expression of civilization. Some of these are as simple as holding the door for people, while others are more complex, like refraining from driving like you are the most important (or only) person on the road. Still others are even more difficult, like understanding how to have an intellectual or political argument with a person holding an opposing viewpoint. (Hint: it doesn’t involve repeatedly stating your position and shaming or dehumanizing any and every person who doesn’t share it.)

Learn how to be kind. Everyone has damage, and it’s nearly always invisible. Acknowledge that others may have pain you don’t know about, and treat them with kindness. This doesn’t mean you have to roll over or subordinate to them. But don’t be callous to suffering.

Obedience is not weakness. Hierarchy is inevitable. It’s a simple fact of existence. There’s almost always someone above you, and there’s almost always someone below you. Someone has a certain type of power of you, and you have a certain type of power over others. And in most situations, you have elected to take part in that hierarchy. If you are asked to do something, do it. However, if you believe the task given to you is contrary to your values, you have the ability to challenge the task giver, challenge the institution, or leave the institution. But pick your battles wisely. If it’s over values, great. If it’s because you’re lazy or don’t believe you should be told what to do, that’s a different story.

Find strength in happiness. Work with a smile. You don’t have to run around grinning like an idiot. Keep in mind, though, that constant complaining literally shortens your life. You can always find something to be cheerful about, and you can use that as an energy source.

Be frugal. Remember that life is not about how much stuff you can accumulate. A good life has much more to do with what you give the world, not what you take from it. Live simply. If you don’t need it, don’t buy it.

Do the important things that scare you. Fear is not an action, but an emotion. Bravery is acting even though you feel fear. If you’re afraid of doing something that needs to be done, do it and do it now. The fear will go away. Like with everything else, pick your battles – running directly into traffic to save a squirrel may be pushing it a little. But if you have a fear of conflict or confrontation, be aware of this. Take a moment, breathe through your fear, and face the conflict head-on.

Clean. Keep your body clean. Keep your room clean. Keep the world around you clean. Keep the air clean. This relates to the food you eat, the beverages you drink, the state of your body and your clothes, and everything else. Don’t be afraid to get dirty – germ and bacteria obsession likely does more harm than good – but once you have the opportunity to put your body and your surroundings in order, do it.

Be humble. Humility is an exceedingly underrated practice. As of this writing, roughly 75% of Americans identify as religious in some sense or another. Most religions emphasize reverence in one way or another. (Whether that is practiced or not is a separate question.) For the other 25%, the simple acknowledgement that we are all, on a universal scale, small and ultimately unimportant – in other words, practicing humility – is crucial. Be respectful of others’ rituals, as they are also exercises in humility.

You’re going to fail at least once every day. I do. But get up in the morning and try again. (You can do this all day, right?) If you want to be Cap, it doesn’t stop at the gym, and it certainly doesn’t stop at the shirt rack in Target.