Would John Wayne Recognize The United States Today?

This week holds the anniversary of the passing of
an American icon, and a hero to many --- on screen
and off. John Wayne, a film actor identified more
readily with the United States than any other, and
your appreciative Peasant's favorite actor of all time,
died on June 11, 1979. The Duke, as many of his
fans remember and refer to him, was also a noted
political activist for conservative candidates and
causes, this in contrast to many in Hollywood then
as now. In his movies and in his personal life,
Wayne embraced the essence of America and
what it means to be an American. When he shed
this mortal coil those 34 years ago, he left our
country a better place. But in recent years
some people have transformed it into a place
that Big John would not recognize, and would not
want any part of.

We currently have an administration that gives
massive amounts of money to mostly supportive
cronies whose large corporations have foundered,
in some cases because of their own incompetence
and/or crookedness, under the rubric of "economic
stimulus". The president has doubled down on the
misbegotten TARP (Troubled Assets Recovery
Program), the brainchild of his predecessor,
aiding other large corporations in a similar state.
He has followed this up with forcing upon us a
national health care program which most of us
have demonstrably opposed, responding that
we'll "like what's in it" (or else!). Add to this so
many other pork-filled nightmares with the
requisite tax increases all around for an
economic nightmare. To add insult to injury,
our current "leadership" in the White House
labels us "extremists" and worse for opposing
these programs and the taxes to pay for them;
this from true extremists in tone and content of
governance!

Our current administration also devised and
implemented a plan to track the sale of guns
at our southern border, named "Fast and Furious"
which was very fast and furious in getting guns into
the hands of drug cartels in Mexico and getting a
U.S. border patrol agent killed in the process.
This same administration refuses to continue
construction of the border fence at that very
border, which was begun before it came to
power, by the way; now, the administration
wants to give amnesty to the many illegal aliens
already here, some having been here for some
years, and put them on a fast-track to citizenship.
A slap in the face to all those immigrants who
came here and, following the rules and the
established timetable, gained their U.S. citizen-
ships.

And let's not forget (although the administration
hopes we do!) the abandonment of Ambassador
Christopher Stephens and his staff at our embassy
in Libya when Stephens was blown off after several
requests for military backup, each request more
urgent than the last. Stephens and three other
Americans were killed by radical Islamic attackers
in what was a planned attack, not a protest of a
politically incorrect movie about Islam having
gotten out of hand like this administration at first
claimed. Their butt-covering didn't hold up, and
now there's yet another scandal of theirs being
investigated. This would never have happened
in The Duke's day! But in that time and place we
had a government that at least cared about the
safety of those people whom they assigned to
represent our interests in other lands, as well as
all Americans who traveled and lived abroad
for any purpose and length of time. And
would have made anyone who would so much
as harm a single hair on an American head pay
a frightful price.

The latest outrage from this motley outfit is their
harassing and intimidating political groups opposed
to their rotten policies via the IRS, and following
that up with collecting telephone call information
on individuals under the guise of seeing who among
us have been talking to terrorist groups or anyone
suspected of such activity, claiming only to get
the times of calls, the time length of each call,
and to whom the calls were placed. They claim
to not be listening in on the calls; if they aren't
doing that now they soon will be! It is the next
logical step in the progression of spying on and
keeping tabs on us for fear of who is not on board
with their increasingly statist governance.

And the kind of movies that Big John made back
in the day have long since gone out of favor with
the Hollywood set. Whereas The Duke made films
which captured and celebrated the American spirit,
ethos, and way of life, the moguls and their stars
currently make movies that depict the U.S. as at
best a clumsy, lumbering, clueless giant stepping
on the rights and well-being of her people and
those of other countries and at worst, a scheming,
grabbing, empire-building evil entity menacing
the world around it. Parents are rarely portrayed
as wise, caring, and loving but often as stupid
and out-of-touch while their children are shown
to be hip, cool, and worldly. Industriousness is
downplayed or outright ridiculed and slackers
are made into heroes. Chastity and virginity are
hooted at while promiscuousness is vaunted.
Movies and TV shows are slinging this sludge
at us daily (and please don't get me started on
the so-called reality TV shows; come on, whose
reality is being showcased in them?). Wealthy
people are presented as layabouts lolling around
on their sumptuous estates or depicted as villainous
and vile. People in poverty, even by their own
erroneous choices in life, are seen to be their
victims or at least victims of society as a whole.
Businessmen and women are rapacious and
oppressing to their workers; the workers are
noble and faultless, even when they are them-
selves are engaging in outright illegal activity
i.e. violent strikes or protests against their bosses
or the government. And the theme of political
correctness ... it almost makes one want to
emigrate!

And popular music? Don't ask. PLEASE don't ask.
Ditto fashion trends.

Manners and civil behavior is fading while crude,
rude, loutish behavior is lauded. Trying to better
yourself with a quality education and vying for
solid career opportunities are not touted as being
as "with it" as being an ill-educated slacker working
(if working at all) at a minimum-wage job or,
worse, living on government handouts. If Duke
Wayne were to return to us for just a single day,
and he were to take in some of this bilge that we
are wallowing in, the shock and dismay of it all
would kill him again just like the cancer that took
him 34 years earlier.

I miss John Wayne something awful. Not just for
his movies, but for what he symbolised. He was a
great role model for our country's young men to
emulate and our young women to appreciate, and
for we older folks to be grateful for. We could use
some more people like The Duke today!Would
that we had some Duke-like folks not just in our
entertainment industry, but in our government as
well! Especially the White House!

At least we can still enjoy John Wayne's movies.
They afford us some temporary escapism from the
dreck that has engulfed our country. Thank you,
Duke, for your legacy.


MEM