Greetings, Steemians and Steemettes!

We humans are quite easy to impress. Especially in the younger days, some kind of role model makes us want to follow his ways, become him or at least become what he represents. For some, this is the father or a father figure. For others, it is someone who does something that you love in an outstanding way. Sometimes, it is just someone did the right thing at the right time in the right way.

I am slightly different when it comes to that. Looking back, some of the biggest inspirations I had for doing things in real life that ended up making my life better or more interesting in some way or form came from fiction. Fictional characters are interesting in regards of this topic because they are larger than life in every sense of the word. They can do things that we never could simply because they do not exist outside of their respective stories and our fantasies.

I think that is a huge part as for why I always felt drawn in to fictional role models much more than to real life ones. Let us call it a "higher ceiling" when it comes to dreams one wants to achieve. With that being said, this post introduces one of the fictional larger than life role models that had a big impact on the way I look at life itself these days.

50 Greyshades of Rodin

Introducing the Black Panther

The Black Panther is the title given to the warrior king and spiritual leader of the fictional African nation of Wakanda. That was a lot of information in one sentence, so I should elaborate. Wakanda is Nation that has found a great balance between tradition and advancement. Following their traditional believes, they consider themselves to be guarded by their panther goddess while years of undisturbed growth as a nation led to technological advances we couldn't even dream of right now. The nation is rich in all sorts of resources, but the most notable one is Vibranium, a fictional metal with special properties. Living in self-imposed isolation allowed the nation to thrive in a way that made all of this impossible. And over all of this, the Black Panther watches as the chieftain.

(Picture found on forbes.com)

Until the Black Panther had his first mainstream appearance in Captain America: Civil War, hardly anyone knew about this character, but I have been a big fan of his long before that. In the Movie, Wakanda was only known as a 3rd world nation until they opened their borders at the end of the Black Panther Movie. In other media, Wakanda is actually known for it's technological advances and nations and groups all over the world want to have a piece of that. Understandably so. Imagine the fortune one could make with what Wakanda has to offer. The monopoly on one of the strongest and versatile metals on the planet, technological advancements that make our day to day look like we are monkeys eating bananas sitting on a tree. Only a fraction of that would make a huge impact on the rest of the world and especially on the wallets of those who distribute them. Whenever I mentioned the character, I would receive responses like "Who's that?" or "Never heard of him." When I had to describe the Black Panther, I would just reply with this:

"He is basically King, Pope and Batman in one person.".

You can't get much larger than life than that, right?

What makes the Black Panther so special?

Which is why Wakanda ain't having any of it at all. Wakanda isolated itself for good reason. They understand that their technological advances and resources would only be used for profit or worse if put in the wrong hands, so they keep it for themselves. We live in times where building bridges is considered to be better than building walls. And I do agree with that. I also think that I don't want to build a bridge towards anyone who will end up being dangerous to everyone, including himself once he crosses it.

So what makes the Black Panther special? Being a King, a spiritual leader and someone who keeps people who don't belong in th country out. Over the course of history, the Black Panther has kept Wakanda safe from outside influence of groups like the Nazis but also from the US. Even Captain America and the Fantastic Four ended up losing ground against the Panther.

Another thing that made the Black Panther stand out for me is the way he gets the title in the first place. In Wakanda, there are no elections, only ritual combat. The rules and entry requirements for this are different depending on the story you are looking at. In some, every Wakandian is free to enter in others, it is limited to members of the royal family. Both males and females can claim the mantle. In some sources, there is a set challenge day, in others, anyone can challenge at any given time.

A lot of people who saw the movies considered this to be barbaric. "They are such civilized and advanced people, how can they resort to something like this when it comes to declaring a leader of their nation?" is what many would say in some way or form. I could note again that the very basic principal of the Black Panther and the nation of Wakanda is that they were able thrive the way they did because they embraced their traditions and believes as much as they did their technological advancements. Instead, I want to ask a question.

"Is it really barbaric to stick to a tradition that has worked over using a election system that has been giving us fat and corrupt tyrants who got their positions by lying and buying themselves into them?"

I am not saying that ritual combat is how all nations should find their leaders. I am saying that before we start to judge other political systems, we should learn and understand the flaws of our own first.

Why the Black Panther inspires me

I am a man who develops deep levels of respect towards anyone and anything that makes me think. And the story around Wakanda and the Black Panther made me deeply reevaluate many core beliefs I held up until that point. I never had much interest for politics, but that started to change once I saw myself getting interested in this piece of fiction. It also made me reconsider who I want to let into my life. There was a time where I was basically open for everyone and tried to solve everyone's problems. In retrospect, I can see how that was not only futile but also very toxic. At times, instead of making other peoples lives better, my own would get worse by letting people take advantage of me or by having other peoples problem weigh down on me emotionally.

As I said before, the topic of "Building bridges instead of walls" is probably as present these days as it never has been before. But even that can lead to disaster.

On the other hand, I was never much of a man for religion or tradition. I was a real cynic, not believing in anything other than myself and I would let people know about that. I also had no regard for the past, only looking into the future. These days, this is different. While I am still no firm believer of anything in particular, I came to appreciate religion and religious believes because it can have beneficial effects on people. I see that with my family. All of them are firm believers, good Christians. I wouldn't say that they live much better or worse than other people, but thanks to their strong believes, they are always brimming with joy and happiness even in the darkest of times. Writing this, I considered giving them a quick phone call. Looking at my clock, they are probably having a service right now as we speak, so I will postpone that.

Why the Black Panther should inspire you

The nation of Wakanda is pretty much a paradise on our world and it is one that has been created by men and women like us. We have the power, the potential to achieve the same. We just need to reconsider some of our ways. Keep what is good, throw out what weighs us down, improve what can be improved on.

But most importantly, always thrive to become the best version of yourself. Be to your people what the Black Panther is to his nation!

Read more of Papa Rodin!

Papa Rodins Promotes #1 - Found some great posts for you!

Papa Rodin Quotes #1 - The Joker

Papa Rodin Reminisces #2 - Wim Hof Method

Papa Rodin Challenges - The 100 Comment Challenge

Papa Rodin Hacks #1 - Scum, stay away!

Papa Rodin Rambles - Capoeira as a martial art

Papa Rodin Reminisces - Capoeira