The Little lesson I learnt from Captain America!!!
"Oh I just wonna be like Captain America!!!"
The movie Captain America to me was more than an action movie but a motivation. I didn't just fall for his six pacs and muscular body but also his bravery!!! I love that shield also!!! mehn it was so cool.
I am a fan of marvel films and I just remembered a little secret I got from the captain himself. But I learnt this from the less muscular captain rogers, the one who was quite short( I am much taller than that version hahaha!) and was disappointed at almost all opportunities.
Before I progress, I will like to debunk the fact that a movie is just a movie. Some people might be thinking 'how the hell does a lesson from captain America help us? ' or 'how applicable are the lessons, it is just a movie nothing more?' Of course it is just a movie but there is always an element of reality(or truth) in them.
Flash back to the point where he joined the army and they were undergoing rigorous trainings. There was this exact one where they jogged with the instructor in front and all of a sudden, he stopped some distance away from a flagpole and made a claim that no soldier had been able to remove the flag from the pole. It was a pretty high one. He then ordered them to compete and bring the flag.
Immediately, some trainees began climbing the single pole, some where dragging them down to climb up and in turn were dragged down so at the end of the tussle, nobody got it. The man shook his head in disappointment. Suddenly, Captain Rogers moved to the flagpole, dismantled it from the base and removed the flag. It was a shock to the instructor and all his co-trainees that he solved the problem using *wisdom not *strength.
That moment in the movie was an awe-inspiring one for me. I had to watch it again and again to understand it.
Firstly, why did the other soldiers not think about doing what he did? I guess it was a general thing called the bandwagon effect. In simple words, if everyone are doing it them it is the correct way, if any other way exists then it is subject to correction. Since the other soldiers saw some trying to climb up, they believed the way was up, while Captain Rogers was looking at the bottom of the flagpole. Have you been attacking problems the same way people have been and they are not solving the problems? rather they keep hurting people and other immense consequences backfires.
Secondly, why did the soldiers have to drag themselves ? they probably thought the way up was dragging pulling someone down so they could rise. This is an animalistic instinct which works on the succession by annihilation thinking. Just imagine if together they formed a circle round the pole, and allowed the the next soldiers to climb and collectively get the flag and make history together!!! (even though they could not think outside the box, they could still win together). But you might say "man this is a competition not a brotherhood!" hahaha true but does this not explain why the world is this way? why many are competing and dragging others down! why businesses and competitors are rivals and democratic parties parallel lines. If the goal is the same(the flag) why not *complement, this does not mean you do the same thing but creating a common ground for both parties to survive.
The bandwagon effect and succession by annihilation are your two new enemies because if captain America never overcame them he wouldn't have been the captain figure you (and I ) love so much. You don't always have to follow the crowd and you don't have to destroy others or tear them down before you reign!!!
PICTURE CREDIT: aisec.com