Open letter to Robert Downey Jr

Dear Mr Downey,

     Let me start the letter by saying that I have no illusions that you will ever read this.  Not that I believe that you are too self important,  but lets face it, my blog gets normal web traffic of MAYBE 20 hits a day, im not holding out too much hope that youre one of the 20.  But who knows, maybe youre a big fan of kale baised recipes, or video games.

I love your work.  Soap Dish?  One of my all time favorite comedies.   Wierd Science?  Loved every second of it.  Pretty sure  i remember you in other movies, but there just not coming to me at the moment.  But thats not what I want to talk about today. 

I'd like to thank you Mr Downey, for Iron Man. 

My children both love super heros.  Batman and Avengers in particular.   My sons great super love is Iron Man.  He has the mask and the chest piece toys.  He 'flys' around the house using his hands as his flight boosters.  He has asked, at one point or another, for every incarnation of the Iron Man suit for conventions and Halloween.  Im trying to learn how to mold plastic to make his dream a reality but I dont think he'll be happy until Jarvis talks to him. 

I am thankful every day that he loves Iron Man so much.

You see, ive seen whats been passed off as entertainment.   While I don't have cable at home,  I do have  access to it at work.  I've seen the "reality" shows.  I've seen the absolute crap that is being passed off and sold to us.  It's killing us.  I work at my counties 911 center, and while were not a huge metropolis,  we are pretty big.  So as you can imagine,  we hear some of the best, and some of the absolute worst,  most horrific things that humanity has to offer.   Im not going to get into what the worst calls are, and thank you for not asking.  But suffice to say that the television shows that we've been given are having an effect on society.  People believe that they are special and deserving of wealth, power, and attention that they have done nothing to earn.  I understand that it's a bit simplistic to blame television, and I know its just one of the factors in an even larger problem (I also blame the McDonald's coffee lady),  I could go on (and on and on) but this isnt the venue.

And the there is Iron Man.  

In the character that you, Stan Lee,  and John Faverau have created there is a man who works on his own merits.   Yes, the million dollar company that Tony Stark inherited from his father helped, but for the most part Iron Man is a product of his own intellect and initiative.   For good or bad, what Tony Stark accomplishes is because he works at it.  He has a goal, he thinks, he works, and he strives.  Yes, he has the occasional set back and panic attack, but he moves on his own power, not because he is entitled,  but because he has earned it.  He can look upon his accomplishments with pride because he knows their worth, and sometimes even their terrible cost.

My son, Mr Downey, looks up to you.  To Iron Man.   He admires the thinker, the man in a suit that does the right thing.  A man, who by his own actions alone, has made the world a better place. So thank you.  Thank you for giving people someone to look up to.  Thank you for creating a character the little boys and girls, at their impressionable ages, can emulate  and be proud of.   Thank you for giving us hope.  Because the world is in short supply of that right now.