Story Archive

The Star-Spangled Man

Lan Diep had already been officially sworn in as a San Jose, Calif., city councilman, but he had to do it again: by tradition, the ceremony is repeated at the first sitting of a new council. To have fun with it, Diep reached into his stash of comic-nerd treasures — he has kryptonite and Ghostbuster equipment; he pulled out his Captain America shield, and took his oath holding that. “I already had my group swearing in, and that was official. That one goes to the state,” he said. “And I had this really cool shield that I never get to show anybody. One of the most patriotic things that you can do is get involved in democracy.” While some laughed at him, Diep refused to be embarrassed: “I’m not above entertaining people in hopes that they will wade through the policy discussions.” (AC/Washington Post) ...He’s fighting for democracy, one smile at a time.