"2016" and a prediction

"2016 The Movie" opened in Las Cruces theaters Friday and Joanna and I went to the 2:30 p.m. showing. It was not a huge theater, still nearly every seat was filled. Lots of seniors, but at 2:30 on a Friday afternoon, all schools are in session, many working folks are still working, and I doubt the choice of the film had all that much to do with the age of the crowd.

At the end of the film, the crowd broke into spontaneous applause. Is that common with movies today? I remember the old days at drive-ins when young couples despaired the end of the movie without caring much about its content.

I am glad the film was not blatantly partisan. We were able to recommend it to some of our Liberal leaning friends as being factual, informative - not hate-filled. 

It was the first time I had been in a movie theater for at least 15 years. Movies are so full of whispers and explosions that my hearing aids nearly self-destruct - never mind that the subject matter has no appeal.

Earlier in the week, we had seen numerous TV spots for "Last Ounce of Courage" and I had told Joanna I also wanted to see that film. Then, my astute little wife made a brilliant observation... "Hollywood has figured out how to get the Conservative dollar." Wow!

And what a good thing that will be. In fact, it could save our nation!

Consider talk radio. I did talk radio before Rush Limbaugh or the other current stars were born. We talked about the city not mowing the weeds on city owned property. We talked about potholes, the weather, and whatever other mundane local subject we stumbled upon. And we faded into oblivion.

Then came the Conservative talkers. Suddenly they were syndicated on hundreds of stations. Suddenly millions of people were hanging on their every word. What role did their considerable power of persuasion play in the generation of the Tea Party Movement, in which millions of Americans seemed to suddenly realize they had been electing and trusting politicians who betrayed them?

I remember 1941 through 1945, my early teens. America entered World War Two just after my 13th birthday. The first movies I saw were war action movies. They so filled me with patriotic fervor that the first thing I did after my 17th birthday was to enlist in the Army. And guess what... 67 years later that patriotic fire has not cooled one degree.

For generations, our youth has been fed Liberal pap by all of the entertainment industry. Look at the Viet Nam era. Unlike 1945, when a 17-year-old's only wish was to qualify for the U.S. military, America's young men fled to Canada to avoid that honor.

So, while Hollywood's only real interest may well be the dollar, if that drives them to produce honest films with conservative principles, I hope they make lots of them! Then perhaps young Americans will again be inspired by America, as were The Greatest Generation.