Superman Returns! And not a moment too soon for those of us who grew up with his movies and comics and bedsheets.

But be warned, this is not your mamma's flag-waving Superman. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I've sure read a lot about it.

Conservative pundits seem to be saying it's not patriotic enough--ravaging the writers for failing to play up Superman's 'Americanness'. Peter Suderman tells us in today's Washington Times that in the past, Superman was "a Kansas-born American boy with Kansas-born American values, and he was proud to say so." As a matter of fact, in the 1980 sequel to the original movie, Superman saved the United States, stopped the destruction of U.S. monuments, and proudly posed with the American flag.

In this year's film, however, he barely stops for a grab-and-go in Kansas, and a prominent montage depicts the all-powerful uber-sapien helping out all over the world--not just around the United States.

In the most telling about-face since Superman's big-screen debut in 1978, the words "American way" have been jarringly cleansed from the 21st century Superman's credo. I think we can safely assume he still stands for "truth" and "justice" anyway.

Suderman laments that Superman has become a "generically postmodern world hero of no particular nationality."

Suderman may be right about Superman. And if he is, well, I think that's great!

What does the 'American way' mean to the rest of the world? © U.S. Dept of Defense / Amnesty International USA

Some may say it's just "liberal" Hollywood making a political statement about the United States' declining image around the world. Recent global events have no doubt destroyed much of the good will and trust the world's multifarious inhabitants had developed for the United States in the decades of the World Wars and Cold War. The world's latest war, however--Mssrs Bush and Blair's so-called "War on Terror"--has not been so kind to Uncle Sam's image, and from U.S. travelers to U.S. superheroes, Americans are starting to have to deal with the ramifications.

But others believe Superman was stripped of his "Americanness" for purely economic reasons--blockbuster movies bring in big bucks all over the world, the theory goes, and a jingoistic American Superman would not play well in the cinemas of Europe and Asia.

I have no idea whether the motives of the makers of this year's Superman were political or not. I'd bet dollars to doughnuts they were indeed economic. But at the end of the day, I think the decision to make Superman a global hero for the 21st century was primarily--and I know this is going to sound somewhat absurd when discussing a super-strong planet-saving flying alien who works at a daily newspaper and undresses in phone booths--realistic.

Yes, realistic.

If we've learned anything in recent years, it's that the people and nations of the world are all interdependent. How many of the things we consume were produced abroad? How many of the diseases we fear originated abroad? How many of the people we're friends with came from another country?

Whether we're talking commerce or medicine, human relations, military strategy, or personal security, national borders are becoming increasingly irrelevant to the discussion. And as each new technological advance brings even more improvements in transportation and communication, so that trend will only continue.

We're hearing the mantra of global interdependence over and over again from the non-profit community--and not just from the foreign policy wonks. Environmentalists and peace groups and economic justice campaigners are all arguing that working together across borders makes us stronger as a nation and helps us to achieve our collective goals of peace, freedom, and prosperity.

That sure sounds to me like what we used to call the "American Way."

Citizens for Global Solutions, for one, envisions a future "in which nations work together to abolish war, protect our rights and freedoms, and solve the problems facing humanity that no nation can solve alone." To help the global community of nations reach those goals, they're campaigning for a "21st Century United Nations."

The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation seeks to create a peaceful and secure world in which natural resources are used sustainably and "transnational, international, national, and local institutions support these aims."

Afghan children at the Allaudin school in Kabul correspond with American students. © Teachers Without Borders

The purpose of Teachers Without Borders is "to invite, gather, distill, synthesize, and disseminate the best collective wisdom from teacher leaders from every culture to make all teachers even more effective in contributing to the creation of a world that works for all." Their "One Face at a Time" project "connects students--worldwide--through photography, storytelling, and technology, to solve problems."

And the policy platform of the youth-led sustainable development group SustainUS begins with the same words that opened the 1992 Earth Charter, which was endorsed by thousands of organizations representing millions of individuals worldwide.

A SustainUS member converts a car to use biodiesel. © SustainUS

"We stand at a critical moment in Earth's history," it begins, "a time when humanity must choose its future. As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future at once holds great peril and great promise. To move forward we must recognize that in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny."

That actually sounds a lot like the kind of credo Superman could get behind.

Indeed, with each passing year, the words of the Earth Charter seem to transform a little bit farther from lofty noble ideal into simple fact of life.

Promoting global equality and interdependence...is it the politically expedient thing for Hollywood to do, the economically prudent thing for Hollywood to do, or simply the right thing to do? In the 21st Century, it may simply be our reality.

Happy Interdependence Day! (Actually, that's celebrated September 12th.)