New Movie Helps Define What Motivates the Religious Right
wilkyjr printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Wed Jan 09, 2013 at 02:50:16 PM EST
The New Movie, named The Last Ounce of Courage, tells the story about a patriot who  once risked his life for his nation, and now is seeking to stand again to fight.
The movie, named The Last Ounce of Courage, tells the sad story of an American hero.  It is about a motor cycle driving veteran who drives a Harley.   This veteran has a huge American Flag waving behind his chopper  and is the center of the plot.  He was in Viet Nam and won medals rescuing prisoners from prisoner of war camps in Nam.  His son grows up,  gets married and signs up to go overseas to fight a Gulf War.  He leaves behind a new and pregnant wife.  He is killed in battle and this death stuns the family.
Father and daughter -in -law  grow apart.  Fast forward 13 years. Our hero seeks to contact the family his son left behind.  He gives prize possessions to his grandson.   He hands over war medals and the Bible that the lad's father carried with him into battle.  The boy takes these items to school.  A principle throws a hissy-fit that this dangerous item, a Bible, was brought into his school.   He warns he could suspend the new student but goes easy on him telling him to not violate this law banning Bibles again.  It gets worse.
Grandfather, who  is  the town mayor, learns about this story.  He begins to put two and two together.  He is reminded he and the city cannot celebrate Christmas now with public displays of the nativity and crosses like they used to. He notes that a small minority of fanatics stopped the %85 of true American citizens from observing Christmas.  He fought a war for this right and now it is being taken away from him.  He finds a foe to this efforts to set up Christmas ornaments in town.  His foe is named Fred Hammersmith.  The actor is actually Fred the hammer, the black defensive back from Super Bowl 1 who turned actor. Fred seeks to keep the town from celebrating Christmas with displays.  Our hero, and mayor, had in place a government grant to build a home for disabled veterans in town.   Fred and his liberal crowd are now stopping this aid from the government because of the hero's actions.  The war hero  now has enough.   With the help of his grandson he takes a cross that says "Jesus Saves" and places it on the highest place on a building.  The mayor is handcuffed, arrested and taken to jail.
An angel helps the mayor escape from jail. While in jail the local school where the grandson was harassed is to stage a holiday play.  It is a pagan story that is to be the subject of the drama.  These students rebel and under their costumes they have nativity costumes and instead present the true story of Christmas.  The wishy-washy principle storms onto the stage and starts to scold the students but notes the crowd has been moved by this story.  He then applauds the play.  The crowd stands and an American flag is brought out.  Veterans are in the crowd and all stand to salute the flag.
The hero says he will become a "freedom fighter" to fight the enemies who seek to harm the country he fought for.  America has been saved for a moment.  But other brave heroes must stand up to fight those wicked forces that would take away the freedoms fought for with the shed blood of the warriors who serve America.
I found this drama aptly represents the fears that motivate this crowd.



Display:
If I were the school principal I would have an articulate atheist child carry his own Bible, follow the Bible quoting child and quote, out loud and in front of other children, from Deuteronomy 25:11-12:

"If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity."

Then have the school teacher read that verse in front of the classroom and, finally, have the school principal read it on the public announcement system or in front of an entire auditorium full of children.

And that quote should be followed by the question "Why do you want to worship that?"

Psychological jujitsu. You use their own weight to trip them up instead of head butting them.



by Villabolo on Wed Jan 09, 2013 at 07:43:36 PM EST

"New Movie Helps Define What Motivates the Religius Right."

Should read religious.



by Villabolo on Wed Jan 09, 2013 at 08:00:27 PM EST

Someone corrected title?  I saw this movie and the ones I saw it with were buying the entire thing!  Most reviews of the movie I read are positive.  National newspapers bashed the movie, the pubic seemed to believe this was based on facts.

by wilkyjr on Thu Jan 10, 2013 at 09:31:28 AM EST
"...the pubic seemed to believe this was based on facts."

Don't mean to be the proofreader here but was that a joke or a typo? :-)



by Villabolo on Thu Jan 10, 2013 at 04:50:28 PM EST
Parent

Like the old proverb says, we live in interesting times.

We're really in a bad situation when a third or so of the population take such movies and statements seriously.



by Villabolo on Thu Jan 10, 2013 at 04:58:41 PM EST
Parent


I was in a group of 60 or more homeschool types when I saw this.  They all bought into this and believed it accurately reflected our nation.  Have spoken to some who saw this at a local theatre and thought the events could happen as they did.  Some here might laugh, but these folks are serious in their fears.

by wilkyjr on Sat Jan 12, 2013 at 10:32:10 AM EST

...to collect little piles of production money from people with more money and religious fervor than artistic sensitivity, and turn a crappy script into something hopefully watchable are almost invariably not very serious.

I'd have to see the flick, but from your description it certainly sounds like a little oh-woe-is-me martyrdom theme designed to give a warm fuzzy to a tiny fundie fraction.

What's more serious, to me, are mindfully-conceived and well-produced flicks, targeted to a much larger demographic, that quietly, non-polemically, promote conservative (read: "in-group") values. Just saw Zero Dark Thirty. Now, there's something to take note of!

Now, I understand that the purpose of t2a is to track the doings of that fundie fraction. But when you talk about movies, I think it pays to take in the bigger picture.

by razajac on Sun Jan 13, 2013 at 07:53:31 PM EST

I haven't seen the film, and probably won't since i doubt it will show on our local big 16+ screens here
in Olympia Wa.  but I imagine it will thrill the hearts of those who already believe that their 'christian nation' is in decay.  I feel sorry for them since they aren't joining the real world until all the oil runs out and the average temperatures are 20 degrees higher.

check out James Howard Kunsler sometime.  we are in trouble, big trouble, and religion doesn't have much to say about it.

by rdrjames on Sun Jan 13, 2013 at 11:42:37 PM EST
Parent



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