You Learn a Lot From Movies

I was lucky. I grew up a half-century ago, so as a kid I watched movies you see now only on video or cable. The films helped form my character and my view of the world. They portrayed America in a favorable light. They exemplified good values.

Then things changed. The anti-war movement of the 1960s degenerated into a frankly anti-American movement.

For example, we have "Seven Days in May," a 1964 film about a military coup that almost overthrows the president because he wants to sign an arms-reduction treaty with the Soviets. And there is "The Package," a 1989 film about a military coup that almost kills the president because he wants to sign an arms-reduction treaty with the Soviets. Sense a pattern here?

Then we have "First Blood," a 1982 film about a mentally disturbed, unemployed veteran who is irritated by police and goes on a killing spree. And there is "The Hunted," a 2003 film about a mentally disturbed, unemployed veteran who is irritated by police and goes on a killing spree. Yep, there’s a pattern.

In reality, there has never been an attempted military coup here. And veterans are no more likely to become murderers than are nonveterans. Indeed, the homicide rate is as likely to fall as to rise after a war. (See http://www.haciendapub.com/stolinsky1.html)

Not content with destroying respect for our military, Hollywood went on to heap contempt on our police. The 1972 film "The New Centurions" would not be made today; it showed police as flawed but dedicated public servants who risk their lives to protect us.

Instead, we see "Training Day," a 2001 film in which the "hero" deals drugs and sets up his partner to be murdered. Then there is "Confidence," a 2003 film that shows cops as drug-dealing, greedy buffoons.

And instead of "The Bells of Saint Mary’s" and "Boys Town," we see films depicting religious people as ignorant bigots. You bet there’s a pattern.

Then we have "JFK," a 1991 film that uses invented scenes to blame conservatives for shooting John Kennedy. And there is "Bowling for Columbine," a 2002 "documentary" that uses concocted scenes to blame conservatives for shooting nearly everybody.

In reality, Kennedy was shot by a leftist who defected to the Soviet Union. The United States does not have a homicide rate that is "obscenely higher" than other nations, as the "documentary" claims. Many nations including Russia and Mexico have higher rates. (See http://www.haciendapub.com/stolinsky.html)

Today’s Hollywood blames Americans and conservatives for the problems of the world. It advances no moral values. It inspires not pride but shame in American audiences. It evokes not admiration but contempt in foreign viewers. Who knows if this motivated some terrorist acts?

But when I was growing up, I saw films that filled me with pride to be an American and provided role models that I still recall.

There was "High Noon," in which the marshal faces a gang of killers alone while cowards make excuses. (Sound familiar, Monsieur Chirac and Herr Schroeder?) And there was "To Kill a Mockingbird," where a white Southern lawyer defends a black man, despite threats from racist neighbors.

These films taught me that political questions can be decided by majority vote, but moral questions can’t. I learned that majorities can be wrong.

I knew as a teenager what many liberals still haven’t learned. They continue to rely on U.N. votes to answer moral questions. Perhaps they never saw "High Noon" or "To Kill a Mockingbird." But Hitler came to power by democratic means. Didn’t this teach us that majority and morality have no necessary relation?

Then there were biographies. There was "Madame Curie," the story of a scientist who discovered radium. Who says women had no role models in 1944? And there was "Young Tom Edison," the story of a poor kid who became a great inventor.

And I saw films about the military. True, they weren’t fully realistic. But they were no less realistic than the anti-military films the current generation was raised on.

"Gunga Din" didn’t give an accurate portrayal of the British in India. But it taught me that homicidal cults must be opposed by force — a lesson we are relearning today at great cost. And it taught me to love the sound of bagpipes. So when I saw a photo of a Black Watch soldier sitting on a tank in Iraq and playing his pipes, I felt a strong sense of kinship.

"They Died With Their Boots On" sugarcoated the career of Custer. But it taught me that sometimes one must risk his life for his beliefs and his comrades.

The film I recall best was "Fort Apache." The story involves a captain, played by John Wayne, serving in the West under a martinet colonel, played by Henry Fonda.

But the character I identified with was the sergeant major, played by Ward Bond. Unlike the colonel, he had the respect of his men not because he demanded it, but because he earned it. He had a quiet dignity that I hoped to achieve when I grew up.

One day the colonel learned that the sergeant major’s son had been admitted to West Point by presidential appointment. The colonel said, "It is my impression that presidential appointments are restricted to sons of holders of the Medal of Honor."

The sergeant major replied, "That is my impression too, Sir." He had our nation’s highest award for valor, but he didn’t wear it. He let his actions speak for themselves.

In the end, the sergeant major and most of the men, including the colonel, were wiped out because of the colonel’s arrogant ignorance. But the regiment lived on.

After all these years, I still recall this film vividly. What did it teach me? How did it affect my outlook on life?

It may have some relation to my dislike for braggarts and show-offs. It may be why insincerity grates on me, whether in personal or public life.

It may have something to do with my appreciation for the plainspoken but sincere George W. Bush, and my distrust for the eloquent but inauthentic Bill Clinton.

It may have a correlation with my esteem for real leaders, who achieve significant results, and my disdain for phonies, who bounce rocks in the desert with cruise missiles — and hope in vain that enemies will mistake posturing for strength.

It may have some connection with my respect for real religion, and my dislike of hypocrites — especially when they often have themselves photographed carrying a huge Bible but have no idea of the importance of an oath to God.

It may have some relevance to my admiration for those who speak the truth, however bluntly, and my intolerance for those who dispute the meaning of "is" and "alone," however smoothly.

It may have a bearing on my regard for those who are loyal to comrades and to principles, and my contempt for the disloyal, however creative their rationalizations.

It may be the reason I reject those who claim to "support our troops," yet oppose every appropriation for newer weapons, better training or adequate pay. And then they condemn what the troops risk their lives to do. That’s not support; that’s deep hostility.

The film honored our military. Even more, it honored honor itself. Who would make such a film today? Who would review it? How many people in Hollywood or the media ever served in the military? How many even know anyone who is serving?

Polls show that 16 percent of Americans are veterans, and 50 percent know someone who has been or may be sent to serve in the Middle East. But newspapers and newscasters repeatedly make blatant errors on military topics, revealing their ignorance of this important subject.

The media "elite" are disconnected from large segments of our people. They not only don’t vote Republican; they don’t know anyone who does. They have as much in common with the huge "red" area on the 2000 election map as they do with Mongolia.

I saw role models in films. So do today’s kids. The difference is that instead of scientists, inventors, clergy and soldiers, they see drug dealers, murderers, crooked businessmen, abusers of women, corrupt cops and other assorted sociopaths.

I was inspired and empowered by the films I saw. Can today’s kids say that?

Consider how many boys try to act like their favorite film, TV or sports stars. Consider how many girls dress like sluts while trying to imitate the latest film, TV or music stars. Consider how kids learn to be adults — or what passes for adults.

If a film made in 1948 still influences me, what kids watch today could well influence them all their lives.

You learn a lot from movies. The question is what.