Cinematic Thoughts

A few evenings ago, I happened to be sitting beside the fireplace enjoying a glass of fine bourbon and a wonderful movie with the missus. That film was Ronald F. Maxwell's 1993 Civil War film, Gettysburg. Perhaps it is because to some extent I consider myself to be a neo-copperhead, that I found the following scene containing a speech given by Confederate General Lewis Armistead (played by actor Richard Jordan) in the moments prior to Pickett's Charge, to be most inspiring.



While I consider this to be an emotionally uplifting scene, at the same time I felt quite disheartened. The sense of pride in local culture displayed here has all but vanished in a contemporary America where most of the general public goes no further than cheering for their local university or professional sports teams. Is the ever continuing erosion of the Tenth Amendment and state sovereignty the culprit? Or is the open borders policy enacted by the United States government to blame? I am sure they both play a part, as does the epidemic of mass media addiction this country is currently suffering from. Would things be any different today if our government operated solely within constitutional limits? I would like to hope so, but honestly, I have no way of knowing. What I do know is this: we can all learn something from General Armistead and his band of rebel soldiers, that wherever you may be from, please turn off the television set once and a while, get to know your neighbors, cherish the time spent with friends and family, take pride in your local culture and heritage, and let all of the world know that you are here this day.

Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett

As I listen to fireworks exploding at 1 a.m (It's not the 4th of July, it's not even close), in my otherwise quiet neighborhood, I must ponder whether these two corporate creations are somehow responsible for it. The selfishness and utter destruction of norms, morals, manners, and self-restraint that has befallen our nation over the last decades is truly remarkable. Thank you Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett for being good pawns and promulgating this completely debased and insane culture.

A culture(sic) that caricatures temperance, mocks modesty, and scorns piety to anything higher than one's person is truly the anti-culture. It is something I want no part of, something that is irredeemable, and ultimately, something that must be extirpated. Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett, Requiescat in pace. God willing, may the depravity you helped unleash and maintain, meet a far crueler fate.