Saturday, May 09, 2009

Why We Americans Need a Cowboy

From Gary Horne at AMERICAN THINKER, via RealClearPolitics:
In those days, the most common boy's game was Cowboys and Indians. Now I have nothing against Indians. Unfortunately they lost, despite putting up a brave fight, a fight that was a lot more ruthless than waterboarding. No Geneva Convention in those days. Did they get a bad deal? Yes, but their bravery is remembered in the many school teams named after them. Were I of Indian heritage, I would be proud to be so honored.

In today's politically correct world, the honor has been turned into something else. The boyhood game of Cowboys and Indians is not about violence or racism, it is an allegory about good and evil. To play the cowboy was to be brave and triumph over evil. To me, this seems to be an essential lesson for a child to learn. I know of a mother in California who would not allow her son to play with any kind of toy weapon, much less a cowboy fighting Indians. I think her son will grow up to be a man incapable of standing up against evil, who will shrink at the approach of the next bully, and undoubtedly vote Democrat.

Today, we have a government filled with such grown up sons. Those setting policy seem to not believe in evil, having fully accepted the concept of moral relativism, for which Pol Pot, Stalin, Hezbollah, Hamas, and Charlie Manson are just people with other points of view. President Obama wants to have a dialogue with the mullahs of Iran. Good luck, sir; you'd better take your teleprompter. The mullahs have no respect for you; you are just another infidel.
[...]
So what are we missing from the movie cowboy? What values did he possess?

* 1. Integrity The cowboy is true to his values. Of course, one has to have values first.

* 2. Courage The cowboy is brave enough to stand up for his values in the face of danger. He is willing to confront evil and do battle with the guys in the black hats.

* 3. Straight Talk A cowboy is a man of few, but honest, words. He says little, but when he talks he says something worthwhile. A cowboy would never spend five minutes spouting lawyerese and convoluted language leaving you asking, "What did he say?" In other words, no BS.

* 4. Dependable He never lets his friends or his horse down.

In many Westerns the cowboy is contrasted by the townspeople who scatter whenever the bad guys roll into town (much like EU foreign policy?). Obama wants all of us to move into town and be like them. I would rather ride with the cowboy.

Cowboy values are the values I would like to see in my President! We need a few Westerns playing in the Saturday night White House screening room.

12 comments:

ericire12 said...

"Cosp and robbers"

ericire12 said...

Ooops.... Cosp = Cops

Anonymous said...

Josiah Gordon 'Doc' Scurlock by Kiefer Sutherland and Paden by Kevin Kline.

Loved these characters!

Pathfinder said...

Cowboy up?

Hell yeah!!!

Anonymous said...

Then we need to play "Cowboys and Muslims"

"We ought not to fight them at all unless we determine to fight them forever"
John Adams on the Barbary pirates 1787

Tom Bogan : Who remembers the Philidelphia

Steve said...

Well said. Maybe we should all follow Gene Autry's Cowboy Code of Honor.

CJS3 said...

+1 on the Gene Autry comment.

In my darker, brooding moments when considering world politics, I, like my Commanche cousins of old, would rather take my knife to you while you lay screaming on the ground, rather than listen to your point of view.

From the movie "THE WIND AND THE LION", the Teddy Roosevelt character said "The world may respect us, but they will never love us. For we have too much audacity."

VLWH Paul said...

Mark Steyn once wrote:

"A neighbour of mine refuses to let her boy play with "militaristic" toys. So when a friend gave the l'il tyke a plastic sword and shield, mom mulled it over and then took away the former and allowed him to keep the latter. And for a while, on my drive down to town, I'd pass Junior in the yard playing with his shield, mastering the art of cowering more effectively against unseen blows."

Pretty much sums up the anti-gun, anti-freedom left in this country. A nation of cowards indeed...

Eric said...

Another great essay, "They Call My President a 'Cowboy'" can be found here: http://www.darkcanyon.net/They_Call_My_President_A_Cowboy.htm

Anonymous said...

We should train our young like Spartans...let them kill some lower class lad as test of manhood. Then they will be worthy of respect.

Anonymous said...

Cowboy Logic by Chalie Daniels

Anonymous said...

When a kid, we played:
cowboys and indians
cops and robbers
and army
It was always about good vs evil