After viewing Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s interview on “60 Minutes” and then, soon thereafter, “Watchmen” — a new movie about flawed heroes with special powers in an alternate world — I wondered which was more fantastic: fact or fiction.

Americans are striving to understand the current economic turmoil, even as they maneuver to escape its ravages. Similarly, they are flocking to movies such as “Watchmen” as another form of escape, a common practice in moments of societal disruption.

In some respects, however, it is truly difficult to distinguish one experience from the other. The chaos of today’s economic reality, along with the misinterpretations and shortcomings of those who should have known better, equates well with the chaos of the film, along with the misinterpretations and shortcomings of leaders depicted in it.

Now, do not get me wrong. Of course, I was pleased to see Bernanke grant a rare, extensive television appearance. These are turbulent, frightening, unusual times, and the Fed chair — one of our top, real-life “watchmen” — should be involved visibly and often in addressing the crisis of confidence.

Moreover, it was encouraging to hear Bernanke say that the Federal Reserve is here to help and will do everything possible to support a recovery; that Americans should have patience as the plan to address the stabilization of financial markets and banks gets under way; and that he has every confidence in our economy’s potential to recover and do so in a strong, sustained manner.

That was sensible, practical advice. Still, it was downright chilling to hear the plain truth directly from a man who knows more about the Great Depression than most anyone, that the world came dangerously near to a financial meltdown late last year, that “it was very close.”

Along similar lines, in “Watchmen,” the world comes dangerously close to a nuclear holocaust. Only the sacrificing of millions of people and the misguided assignment of the blame to an innocent, one-time hero produced a relatively happy ending. Perceiving a common enemy, the nations of the world joined arms, putting belligerence, fear and imminent global destruction behind them.

Well, unfortunately, we have not yet reached the bottom of our crisis. But if Bernanke is to be believed, the recession could end this year, and a recovery might well begin taking shape in 2010. I hope that he is right.

Along the way, though, many more jobs will be sacrificed. Further, to get where we wish to be, we still must deal with what was, in my mind, the most important element of Bernanke’s message: the criticality of political will in resolving the crisis. I would add to that the criticality of business and popular will.

At the national political level, the Obama administration appears diligently focused on a recovery plan, but it cannot hope to succeed if too many other elected officials pull in the opposite direction. President Obama is not the enemy; the recession is. Collective political will is required. If ever there were a time to join arms, this is it.

Financial institutions also have to muster quite a bit more will. They cannot expect to receive government bailouts and misuse them without consequences. Nor should those companies believe that they are entitled to shore up their own interests while limiting credit – including to historically trustworthy borrowers. The more the weak-kitten lending and ensuing credit squeeze linger, the longer a recovery will take.

As for taxpayers, they are right to demand better information about how the bailout money is spent. However, they must also realize that our current crisis is more complicated than anyone ever imagined. In part, that is why solutions are not coming easily or quickly. As Bernanke said, we must have patience. A little more optimism also would help. Having dodged the bullet – in his words, “I think we’ve gotten past that” – the present situation is seriously challenging but not disastrous.

To move ahead, we must focus on our stimulus/recovery efforts to revitalize America’s ailing infrastructure and build upon it, save and create jobs, bolster education, reinvigorate creativity and lift our confidence to its rightful place. On the international front, we must proceed with globalization; I agree with those who say that we need more of it, not less. The worst step for the United States – or any other nation – to take in this uncertain period would be to succumb to protectionist impulses.

When “Watchmen” ended, people left the theater and the chaos of the film behind. But reality’s chaos never pauses, delivering an unavoidable responsibility to Americans in government, business and across society to reach high, restore stability and reclaim prosperity. Collectively, we can prevail.