Superheroing 101, Thursday, Period 4
When Billy had agreed to teach the class today, he hadn't had any idea how uncomfortable he would be feeling. If he'd known what this week would be like...well, okay, he probably still would have agreed to do it, but he might not have said yes quite so quickly.
"Hey guys," he said, shifting from side to side nervously once everyone had arrived. "So, last week, we talked about some of the problems superheroes can run into from outside forces. Today, we're going to be talking about more internal problems, namely, superhero ethics." Billy figured he didn't have to spell out why he was up here, and Electroclash wasn't. "The Super Powers Authority has a really complicated explanation for this, but I don't think it's such a difficult topic to figure out. If you're going to be using your abilities to help people, you can't abuse your power, end of story. Superheroes are role models, and that means you're going to be held to a higher standard, and yeah, maybe that's not entirely fair, but it's what balances out the ability to be amazing and help people when no one else can."
"If you ever have to wonder whether something you're doing with your abilities is wrong or not, it's probably not ethical," he continued. "Ethics are what separate us from the bad guys, you know? Obviously, you don't want to use your skills for anything evil, but like, showing off to impress people? Not cool. Using your abilities for personal vendettas? Probably not a good idea. I know the topic of ethics isn't black and white - the SPA seems to think it is, but at some point, everyone's gonna run into a situation where the right thing to do might not be clear. Really, it's up to you guys to make sure you can sleep at night with a clear conscience, knowing you're being the best hero you can be."
"I thought maybe we could try to come up with situations where being ethical might be difficult, because then if we ever end up in a situation like that, we might have an easier time knowing what to do. I already came up with a few examples of my own." Yes, he was passing out a handout now, because he was just that thorough. "Think of it like a self-assessment, to see what you'd do."
"Hey guys," he said, shifting from side to side nervously once everyone had arrived. "So, last week, we talked about some of the problems superheroes can run into from outside forces. Today, we're going to be talking about more internal problems, namely, superhero ethics." Billy figured he didn't have to spell out why he was up here, and Electroclash wasn't. "The Super Powers Authority has a really complicated explanation for this, but I don't think it's such a difficult topic to figure out. If you're going to be using your abilities to help people, you can't abuse your power, end of story. Superheroes are role models, and that means you're going to be held to a higher standard, and yeah, maybe that's not entirely fair, but it's what balances out the ability to be amazing and help people when no one else can."
"If you ever have to wonder whether something you're doing with your abilities is wrong or not, it's probably not ethical," he continued. "Ethics are what separate us from the bad guys, you know? Obviously, you don't want to use your skills for anything evil, but like, showing off to impress people? Not cool. Using your abilities for personal vendettas? Probably not a good idea. I know the topic of ethics isn't black and white - the SPA seems to think it is, but at some point, everyone's gonna run into a situation where the right thing to do might not be clear. Really, it's up to you guys to make sure you can sleep at night with a clear conscience, knowing you're being the best hero you can be."
"I thought maybe we could try to come up with situations where being ethical might be difficult, because then if we ever end up in a situation like that, we might have an easier time knowing what to do. I already came up with a few examples of my own." Yes, he was passing out a handout now, because he was just that thorough. "Think of it like a self-assessment, to see what you'd do."