Mel Gibson's, Braveheart . . . The Sacrificial Lambs to the Slaughter!
I am not sure, when Braveheart first came out in the movie theaters, but I would venture a guess that it was over 30 years ago, or so it seems. But, as a more mature, educated, and freedom loving person than I was back in the day, when I first saw the movie, parts in the drama, made more of an impact on me, that I am sure it did when I just watched for the historical, love, and fighting aspects of the movie. I came into the movie about the time, Wallace, or Gibson, met the girl, and secretly got married. Being the romantic I am, that part is what stood out in my mind, and I couldn't even remember much of the story or history, after the fight between the Scottish and the English was taking place, with all the men, lifting their kilts, and shooting the very proper English King the moon!
This time, I was much more aware of the betrayal, the look on Wallace's face, as what he thought were his fellow country men, of another clan, had joined hands to take up arms for freedom against the British Empire, and when he realized, that this was not much more than a set up to get Wallace's army of rag tag, but inspired, men into a trap, that would eventually, for a while lead to their demise. But, the soon to be heir of the Scottish clan, who shook hands with Wallace, joining him, also noticed the shocked look, when Gibson,Wallace, saw him take off his mask, and reveal who the traitor was, his friend, and it appeared to be someone he respected, very much. But, as the plot developed, and the soon to be appointed heir to the Scottish throne, or at least to some of it, came back, the look on the pure freedom fighter's face, haunted and depressed him, realizing, that while gaining the world, he had, in deed, lost his very soul, and told his aged father, who orchestrated much of his son's travails and triumphs, depending on which way you looked at it, but he commented to his father, that he had nothing. He also hated his father, and himself, as he watched his father, who then smiled and said, now, my boy, that you know hate, you are ready to be King.
As the story, history, and the two men, Wallace, the rebel, and the more cultured and prepared to be King, intertwine, and their lives, intersect, they save each other on several occasions, or their previous relationship, and the respect, seem to come in handy, many times, that help forward, Scottish freedom, to the point, that in the end, after Wallace, is killed, and has become a big time legend, the other King, takes up his mantle, finding, meaning in what his friend stood for, and fought for, and joined the fight for freedom, against the former, allies, whom he had sided with, against, Wallace, in a sabotaged effort to take down the rebels. The human drama was almost more exciting than the historical drama, the epiphany, the ah ha, moments, of truth, of self discovery. You can never tell the character of a man, woman or child, until it is truly put to the test. The unexamined life, is a life not worth living . . . Shakespeare, Plato, or Aristotle said that, but it is true regardless of who said it.
It is amazing who many lines, statements, facial expressions, and slogans, that were brought out in this very powerful film, may have inspired me, to fight the fights, I do, to champion freedom, as being my number one priority, and something, that I am willing to risk all for. The first year, after I was sworn into the United States Supreme Court Bar, the time that seemed to be a turning point in my life, leading me into the rebel role, the renegade, the freedom fighter, the constitutional law attorney, hell bent on righting the wrongs, and forwarding the causes that I took an oath to preserve, protect and defend, trying to slam, the government, cops, business, local, state and county officials, regulatory agencies, whomever, had departed so far from the goals of freedom, rights and liberties, that they needed a wake up call, and the call for fighting off the oppression that had befallen on this country, with the rights being slowly eroding for a long time, probably starting back in 1933, seemed to be a turning away from the safeguards and protections set forth in the wisdom of the founding fathers, and captured in the U.S. Constitution and mirrored in many state constitutions. But we have many to thank for the freedoms we have, going back centuries. Just to name a few:
Moses, Freeing the Children of Israel From Egypt
I am touched my the personal sacrifices, that many, who, could, have chosen, the road of riches, honors, power, actually, risked everything to stand up for the oppressed. Mose, who was taken onto the palace of Pharaoh, by his daughter, raised as if he was her own, and trained to lead in the courts and halls of glorious Egypt, turned on a dime, so to say, and when he saw, one of his fellow, Israelites, being beaten and whipped by the guard and task master, actually stood up to him, took the whip and beat the guard, until he killed him, sending Moses into the desert to hide from the repercussions of his actions and the murder of the guard. He, however, say the brutality of the treatment of the slaves, and of his countrymen of his birth, and took actions, almost without thinking at all, temper, temper, but so shocked at the inhuman treatment, that he almost went into auto pilot and took the life of this oppressor of the people, without a thought at all! Are we all as shocked at man's inhumanity to man, or do we hide in the shadows, and hope that someone else comes to their rescue, someone besides ourselves?
Do we turn a blind eye, to a neighbor, a student, a co-worker, a wife, a child, a husband, and others, who are mistreated at the hands of unjust oppressors? What are we saying about our character, about who we are, and what we stand for, and at the end of the day, do we like the person we see in the mirror, do we respect them, or do we hate the coward, the pussy, the self-protecting person we have become, safe in our little world, and immune to the trials and injuries of others? Why do we feel we are any less obligated, that a Moses, or a Wallace, or a Christ, and many of the brave hearts who have dotted and challenged the status quo or their times, and stood for what is right, true, bold, and making men free? What is our charge, our mission, our challenge, our call to duty? Have you stepped outside your safety zone and wondered, am I one who is called, to rise out of the ashes of this life, the dust, the dirty mire that man is often in, over the ages, and called to bright light, beauty, love, freedom and goodness to a dark age?
Copernicus, Galileo, Columbus
Early scientists, who were burned, hung, beheaded, called heretics, for believing something that the ignorant masses didn't believe. They believed in the universe, in a solar system, or that the world revolved around the sun, not the sun around the world . . . they challenged the beliefs of the day, and called the earth round, instead of just going with the flow of mankind, who truly believed that the earth was flat. Would we have the courage, the brave heart, to take on the powers of the day, and challenge the thoughts of the day, the ignorance of man, and fight for truth, no matter what the cost, our lives, if necessary? Would we be strong enough, brave enough, to venture out into an ocean of incredible mass, to prove our point, and be able to convince a Queen, that we were right and it was worth her investing in our explorations and discoveries? These people fought for freedom of thought, they wanted empirical science or proof, for their theories and ideas, contrary to all that had come before them . . . where would we be without these brave souls?
Sir Thomas Moore, Martin Luther's 96 Treatises on Gutenberg Chapel
A Man for All Seasons . . . someone who withstood the King's pressure to conform to his adulterous, murderous, longings for a son, who was founded in his beliefs and understandings of British law, as well as in the laws of God, and tried, first to persuade, then when that wouldn't work, did all in his power to convince the King through logic, scripture and common law, and finally, even at the begging of his family, wife, and others, to change his positions and beliefs, to save his own life, he could not do it . . . true to the core of who his is, one hell of a brave heart! Or Martin Luther, standing up to the all powerful Catholic Church, and breaking with traditions, again with the mind of setting the people free from the purchase of indulgences and favors, sins, and traditions, believing that man is free to go directly to God, and not have a priest or a middle man, standing between him and his salvation, that Christ freely gave, through grace. Taking his grievances, long before the 1st amendment, freedom of speech, and addressing grievances, with your government, who in those days, was pretty much one in the same with your religion. These guys had guts, and set the stage for a modern and more workable Bible and translation of the Bible, one that many adhere to today, taking away power from the monks and clergy of the day, and putting power and salvation in the hands of the common man, empowering him, to call on the favor of the Lord and do mighty works in his name.
You will continually, notice the common theme of freeing the human mind, spirit, soul, body of these brave hearts! Their focus was never on their own comfort, their own lives, their own families even, but what the freedoms might do for mankind in general, at great personal sacrifice on their own parts, losing, basically everything they had, including their own lives in necessary.
Joan of Arc . . . 19 Year Old French Girl . . . Led France to Victory
Lest, any of you think you are too young to heed the call to duty, Joan of Arc, was merely 19 years old, when she heard the voice of God, calling her to battle, dressed in armor, and I think, from memory, pretending to be a boy, because they would not let women fight in those days, barely do today, so she went in disguise, but she went none the less, and did what she was commanded by God to do, and freed France from its oppressive enemies. I remember reading a history of my great, great-grandfather, Warren Snow Gardner, I think, who loved the founding fathers, and the U.S. Constitution, who vowed as a young man, at the age of 14, to be exact, that he would always, stand up for the rights of the oppressed and his own rights, that he valued so much, as per the Constitution! At age 14, he met, Joseph Smith, the founder and first prophet of the Mormon Church, and he was so impressed with him, that he pledged his life to him, and became one of the Men in Between, as they became called, who stood between, the angry mobs, and the young prophet, who was tarred and feathered, and eventually murdered.
There were only five, personal body guards to the young prophet and his family, and my great-great-grandfather was one of them . . . he was one of the few, who were let in Joseph's house after the martyrdom of the prophet, and suffered greatly that he had not been around to save the prophet from the mobs, who killed him. The good thing about the young, is that you are unencumbered, without families, wives, and children, husbands, and houses, and are free to fight for what you believe in, and you are able to totally dedicate yourselves to what you believe and want to happen. There are master and doctoral thesis's written about my ancestor, and probably the most famous of the Men in Between, was Porter Rockwell, who gained fame, both in Mormon and Non-Mormon circles. Joseph Smith, saved Porter from a bunch of bullies who followed him home from school. Joseph told Porter, much like Samson of old, that if he never cut his hair, he would have magical powers! Someone shot, Governor Boggs, of Illinois, I think, or Missouri, who put an extermination order out on Mormons, and Porter was blamed for the injury to the head . . . his defense, that nobody question, was, that had it been he, that shot the Governor, he would have been dead! He was set free . . . allegedly he killed at least 80 men.
Modern Day Has No Lack of Heroes Also!
I remember reading in some magazine, about a Chinese, blind, lawyer, who was fighting for rights and freedoms and taking on his government . . . he was imprisoned for 4 years, without a hearing, and finally, he was released, only to start all over again fighting for the fffffffffrrrrrrreeeeeeedddddddoooooommmmmss of the Chinese people. We have the young 17 year old activist from Hong Kong, who orchestrated the recent demonstration calling for the Chinese communists, to let, Hong Kong, who had been under British rule, for centuries, choose their own candidates for their upcoming elections, that they wanted to be more democratic, and closer to to the people. These young college age, and other people, stood in streets, protested and blocked financial districts and did what they could to pressure the government of China to let them be democratic and chose their own leaders . . . it didn't happen, but things don't always go as planned, and I am sure that they are not going to just let this go, but will continue through non-violent means to try to get what they want, by way of a representative form of government. I am sure that they followed in the foot steps of young, tech savvy Egyptians, who also petitioned their government and military for better representation and forms of government.
Just a few weeks ago, I cried as I read about, a Russian, freedom fighter, who was assassinated, just days before he was staging a large forum to redress grievances with the Russian government! His death came, the day after my night of terror, with American government and their agents, in Missoula, chasing me for about 24 hours, and I am still feeling the effect, of what might be called assassination by poison. I was saddened that it is the prophets, the brave hearts, the reformers, the eyes and ears of the masses, the voices, that are silenced! As I was riding the bus, this morning, up to the library, in Butte, I think, I heard the news, that was low, up by the driver, but I think, that there is still an investigation, into the death of this man, long known for his fights for rights, liberties and freedoms of the Russian people! I think his name was something like, Neymoid, or whatever, but a kindred spirit, from Russia!
Tank Man comes to mind, as I think of the struggles of the Chinese and Russians, under communist rule, and I am not judging their form of government, I do not know enough to judge, but history, and any oppressive regime, is something that I am not found of . . . freedom is the name of the game! I am all about Patrick Henry, Give me liberty or give me death! Making that statement as America entered into the Revolutionary War against the British Empire, well funded, well armed and the oppressors of the colonies! Brave hearts of all ages, are cooler than hell to me.
Pres. John Kennedy, Bobby, Dr. Martin Luther King, Selma, Ferguson!
Just today, in the Independent Record, Helena, I think, whatever newspaper I read, there was a great article on Selma, Alabama, marking the march to the polling booths, taking on the cops, the sheriffs, segregation, prejudice, brutality, and death, called, Bloody Sunday . . . I guess that is tomorrow, where these fearless people, were bound and determined, that they were not going to be denied any of their rights to vote and exercise their freedoms, no matter what the cost, and cost there was . . . brave hearts! The struggles are shocking, and the sheriff, to this day, said he doesn't regret or would he change the way he handled that day . . . he saw it as his duty and the way he read enforcing the law. Who is to judge?
Today, at 2:00 p.m., here in the library, there is an artist, who took pictures of the boarded up storefront, during the riots in Ferguson, Missouri, this August, after a white police officer, shot and killed an unarmed 18 year old black boy, Michael Brown. While Ferguson, and I owe you the great Apologia, kind of slammed Ferguson, with the world, watching, botched the demonstration of the way we can handled issues in this country; however, that was not the problems of the community, the black leaders, the protesters, that came by way of injustice from cops, prosecutors, the mayor and the governor . . . another article, with week, said that the Department of Justice, is demanding that Ferguson, start changing their police tactics, and stop racially profiling, and targeting blacks, in a discriminatory way. So, folks, things have not changed much, there, but, the country has, as demonstrated by Butte Library, having a slide show, and then are community art project, to be displayed somewhere that will inspire, us here locally, to stop the discrimination, and treat everyone with the dignity and respect, freedom, liberties, rights and protections, that they are entitled to under our 14th amendment, and other provisions in the United States Constitutions.
I just wanted to note, that in this American system of government, there are three branches of government, the executive, the legislative and the judicial, all to provide a balance of power, between the three branches. What I see is the problem with Ferguson, is that first, it was members of the executive branch who oversaw, the executive branch . . . all involved, were in the executive branch, where the cops, operate under the mayor, who was interviewed and didn't even see Ferguson as being racist, and that everything was okay, at least at first, if Mayor James Knowles . . . symbolic, know less . . . he was pretty much, walking reporters around, his own neighborhood, and stating that people are not prejudice at all, the cops don't target, and all is well in Ferguson! Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil . . . put your head in the sand, even the Pussy Riot gals, can see the brutality from Russia! Come on, this never should have happened!
Montana's Legislative Branch, Provided the Balance for the Executive Branch & the Cop Shootings! In America, We Don't Do This!
The federal Department of Justice, is also in the executive branch of government, they work with the local,county and state governments, including their cops, all the time, in fact, many, U.S. Attorneys, work more closely with the local cops, than they do with their own federal cops! So, you are asking the chickens to guard the chickens! Cops, prosecutors, mayors and governor, are all in the same branch of government! Where is your legislative and judicial branch? By, passing a law, that cops have to be trained in Constitutional law, the Bill of Rights, and state provisions, the legislature, is basically, saying, we are taking this out of your hands, you are not going to judge yourselves, protect cops who kill, unjustifiably, and turn it over to internal affairs, or the prosecutors . . . all members of the same team, the ones who are allegedly suppose to be enforcing the laws . . . what laws are we talking about? Surely not the ones, I am familiar with! Cops don't get to be judge, jury and executioners on the streets, we have due process and equal protection of the laws!
Somewhere along the line, all the branches of government got messed up together, and there was no balance, and not check on the powers of the executive branch . . . we cannot have that! Also today, the legislature, were going to cut, some benefits to retired government employees or retirees . . . a judge, part of the judicial branch, jumped right in and said NO! And overturned the legislature's bill. This is the way it is suppose to work. We all hate Citizens United, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling, that corporations are people and they have a first amendment right to free speech, and money is speech . . . Congress and all state legislatures are trying to fix that dose of a case! So that is how it is suppose to work . . . put a check on the powers that be. A Texas Judge, just but the kibosh on President Obama's executive action to grant immigrants work permits, and other resident related protections, like taking away the fear of deportation!
We cannot let one branch of government go . . . give a man, or woman a little bit of power, and they will abuse it, give them absolute power, and they will abuse it absolutely! We have a built in system of checks and balances, and for a damn good reason!
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