Heroes and Villains
Sam Aurelius Milam III
I'm
a fan of the miniseries Amerika. I've watched it several times.
I've watched bits and pieces of it several times in addition to that.
I've gone through it slowly, bit by bit, writing down quotations.
I intend to watch it again in future years.
Over
the years since I first saw it, I've pondered the situations and characters
that are presented in the story. One scene that comes occasionally
to mind is the nighttime skirmish at the town square of Milford, Nebraska,
where the local Americans are fighting the Russian troops of the United
Nations Special Service Unit (UNSSU). The fighting is pretty much
over except for one annoying UNSSU army tank that's blasting holes in the
fronts of all of the (unoccupied) local buildings on the main street of
town. The locals are armed mostly with shotguns and hunting rifles.
They can't do much about the army tank. Then, a hero rides to the
rescue. He's a man in a small gasoline tanker truck. He drives
the truck toward the army tank, accelerating along the main street, and
slides it sideways against the tank, causing a large gasoline explosion.
The explosion destroys or disables the tank. Of course, it also kills
the hero. The suicide attack isn't presented as much of a big deal.
It's only a few seconds of action in a rather long movie. I don't
recall that the character even had a name in the dialog. He was,
nevertheless, presented as a hero. He died for a cause in which he
believed, supporting it in the best way that he could.
Now,
consider a different suicide attack. When the presumed Muslim hijackers
reportedly flew the allegedly hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center
towers, people's reactions varied from scathing contempt to utter bafflement.
Nobody could even remotely understand why anybody would be such a monster,
or such a nitwit, as to intentionally crash an airplane into a building.
Now,
reconsider the miniseries Amerika. If we can understand the
courage and the heroism of the man in the gasoline tanker truck, then why
can't we understand the courage and the heroism of the presumed hijackers?
Is it just because the truck driver was on "our side" and the presumed
hijackers weren't? What does that have to do with anything?
Courage is courage, regardless of the allegiance of the hero. If
the 911 attacks had actually happened as reported (which they didn't),
then the presumed hijackers would have died for a cause in which they believed,
supporting the cause in the best way that they could. The target
was of a different kind but the courage is the same.
| "You have heard that it was said,
'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy,' But I say to you, Love
your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons
of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the
evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not
even the tax collectors do the same? And if you salute only your
brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles
do the same? You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father
is perfect.
Matthew 5:43-48
Revised Standard Version |
When
Americans praise one man's sacrifice just because he's on our side and
condemn another man's similar sacrifice, just because he's the enemy, that's
arrogance and hypocrisy. It's jingoism masquerading as patriotism.
For so-called Christians, who loudly proclaim America to be a Christian
nation, it's also an indication of their error. If America had ever
been a Christian nation, then Americans would have behaved differently
and the sorry atmosphere of hatred and fear might have been avoided.
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