Great power. Great responsibility.

As I read about the recent attempted terrorist attack and how the would-be bomber’s father tried to warn the proper authorities, I can’t help but think about the awesome responsibility I have as a father. By “awesome” I don’t mean “totally cool.” I mean “holy crap there’s a lot of pressure not to let my child grow up to become a failed suicide bomber.”

I was watching my son struggle to crawl today (he’s only 4 months old) and I got the feeling that this kid is going to be whatever he wants to be when he grows up. I know we tell kids that they can be whatever they want to be when they grow up, but let’s face it, a lot of us end up becoming much less than we want to be. But this kid…this kid is determined. He’s a fighter and a thinker. He screams in frustration as he attempts to crawl. At the same time you can visibly see him working it out in his mind. He’s trying new things all the time.

So as I watch this happen, I realize I need to make sure I put Chandler on the right path. If I don’t he could become the next Lex Luthor or Dr. Evil. Right now I can tell he’s going to be like Anakin Skywalker. He could be the savior of the galaxy. Or he could turn to the dark side and end up cutting off his son’s hand. And I don’t want my future grandson to go through life with a prosthetic hand and an evil father.

His training has to start now. He needs to be surrounded by images of superheroes and do-gooders and unicorns. Wait…unicorns? Sure. They’re cool in my book.

Most importantly I need to set the right example for him. He has to see me being a model citizen. I can’t do anything that would make him think it’s okay to bend the rules. Because if he thinks it’s okay to say…go a wee bit over the speed limit, then the next thing you know he’s bending other rules. Then all of a sudden you see your kid on the 9 o’clock news being hauled off to gitmo because he tried to light a bomb he had hidden in his underpants and now he has 3rd degree ball burns.

I will not let my son go down that path. From this point forward I am determined to make sure my son leads a life of superhero-esque goodness. I’ll start setting a good example right after I finish downloading a bit-torrent copy of Dark Knight.