"I tried being reasonable. I didn't like it." Clint Eastwood
April 22, 2015
By: Linda Case Gibbons
Many years ago, in a kingdom far away, a prince was yearning for a princess, one who was princess-like, you know, sensitive and delicate in every way.
One rainy night, a soggy female showed up at his door. His mom, who also wanted a "princessy-princess" for a daughter-in-law, knew the test to see if this girl could be "the one."
It had something to do with mattresses and vegetables, so the old lady gathered up a bunch of mattresses, piled one on top of another and placed a small pea on the very bottom one, then told Soggy to turn in for the night.
Next morning, black and blue and bleary-eyed from lack of sleep, the soggy female (now dry) whined and complained about the sleeping conditions that made her hurt so bad.
She'd passed the test! She was sensitive enough to prove she had what it took to be a real princess. Predictably the prince and his princess married, and yes, lived happily every after.
But Americans have never cottoned much to royalty, as you well know, and they're not keen on sensitive, "politically correct" people, the ones who are insulted at every little thing and want everyone else to stop doing whatever makes them feel bad.
That was never Americans' strong suit. You have only to look at our heroes to know that.
Americans like the strong, silent type. A guy who gets it done and doesn't have to tell you how hard it was to do it. Throw in a sense of humor and we've got our kind of hero.
Like Clint Eastwood.
Or maybe someone like Rick Scott, the Florida governor who sued President Obama for trying to bully Florida into funding Medicaid by withholding federal funding from the state's hospitals.
And who, when Obama's "Soprano-like" tactics didn't work, was accused by the president of putting politics before people.
Or perhaps Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Students at the University of Texas opposed Abbot's appearance as a commencement speaker on the grounds of his stand on traditional marriage and immigration reform.
Both these guys are great, but Clint Eastwood's story is funnier.
After Eastwood's movie, "American Sniper" opened in theatres, documentary maker Michael Moore made it clear he hated the film and attacked it, its director (Eastwood), the war in Iraq and snipers, whom he said were all cowards.
Moore also whined and moaned that Eastwood had threatened to kill him.
When asked to comment, Eastwood joked, "It isn't true, but it's not a bad idea."
He recalled the incident which happened back in 2005 when Moore was shooting "Bowling in Columbine" and showed up at Charlton Heston's door.
Heston was the well-known head of the National Rifle Association and was suffering from Alzheimer's disease for a few years at the time of Moore's visit.
"Somebody asked me what I would do if a guy like Moore came to my house and started filming like they did with Charlton Heston...and I thought, well, if he's on your property, I guess you can shoot him."
As Moore kept up his rant against "American Sniper" and its director, Eastwood simply said Moore was entitled to his views about him and the movie because "It's a free country."
He was gracious.
Compare that to the sensitive types who are becoming more and more numerous in our country today, the ones who object to and shut down or burn up everything that insults their fragile sensibilities.
You'd recognize them. They are the Muslim students who insisted the "American Sniper" be cancelled at the University of Michigan because of its "negative and misleading stereotypes of Muslims." It was cancelled and replaced with a showing of "Paddington," the bear.
And the Muslim Students Organization at the University of Maryland who petitioned to ban the film because it was feared that the story of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle would "encourage Islamaphobia."
But you've seen this type before. They were the exchange students we saw on our TV screens, cheering after 9/11 as the Twin Towers fell. The ones who loved the First Amendment protection they were afforded by our American Constitution so they could do that here, but not back in their countries.
But I remember seeing another type, like Maryland State Delegate David Vogt, III, who defended "American Sniper" and America.
"As a Marine combat veteran and former Marine of the Year, I am extremely disappointed in the University of Maryland's decision to silence the story of a man who valiantly served our great nation.
"Chris Kyle put on his uniform every day to protect and preserve liberty, the open discussion of ideas and the opportunity for every American -- regardless of race, religion, culture or gender -- to succeed and achieve the American Dream.
"If the University of Maryland does not reverse the decision to cancel a screening of "American Sniper," then I will organize and sponsor a screening for students myself."
Yes, when the chips are down and when we have to count on someone we can count on, I'd put my money on Dirty Harry and men like him any day of the week.
Hold the line, America.