A Classic Example of Irony in the Distribution of Classic Movies

I want to talk a bit about the irony of classic movies with terrific values and lessons for all of us, coming from a company owned by an icon of the antithesis of those very values.  I am speaking of Ted Turner’s company, Turner Classic Movies and the wonderful old movies filled with lesson of respect, kindness, love of America, standing firm in the face of evil, and many other traditional American values.

A few nights ago I watched a Mickey Rooney movie called “Love Finds Andy Hardy”, one of eleven Andy Hardy movies. The setting was in 1938 America. While Rooney’s acting was somewhat silly, certainly by today’s standards, the characters of Judge Hardy, Andy’s father and the ‘girl next door’ played by Judy Garland, were extremely well performed. Rooney and Garland were truly special talents for being so young. This movie was an excellent example of family values teaching respect and love.

And then there was “Three Godfathers” with John Wayne, Ward Bond (a great character actor) and Harey Carey Jr. This was also chock full of wonderful lessons about traditional American values such as honor, loyalty and preseverence.

But by far, the best movie I recently watched was “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” with Lee Marvin, Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne. What an excellent portrayal of loyalty, courage, character and a love for the American way of life given to us by God and the founding fathers. There is a school house scene in which Jimmy Stewart outlines for his students the American form of government. He specifically says that the people are in charge. This is a great lesson for our pariotic citizenry of today to remember, that we are indeed in charge.  The Teaparty movement and Act for America are two organizations that are fighting for our founding principles, from the grassroots. This whole tale is about standing firm, with courage and fortitude, in the face of thuggery and evil by the powerful. Lessons we need to incorporate for use today, because we are now in the midst of the most serious threat to liberty that this country  has faced since the founding.

I find it truly ironic that a company bearing the name of a man who has done so much to destroy this country and those very values, should deliver such excellent old movies filled with love of country – just the opposite of what he believes. But Ted Turner is such a man. After making his billions in the very capitalist system he despises, his white, liberal guilt causes him to set about destroying that system. In my opinion, he does so to assuage that guilt by advocating the legal theft of wealth from the hard-working middle class, and redistributing it to many who refuse to earn it themselves.

By the way, another source of the wonderful old classics is the www.AtlasShrugs.com  blog of the fabulous and vivacious freedom fighter, Pamela Geller. Though she fervently fights the good fight against the unholy alliance of radical liberalism and Islamofascism, she shows that she does have other interests, such as jazz and classic movies. Almost every Sunday she includes a link to one of these fabulous old productions. Last week she sent a wonderful old film called “She Done Him Wrong” with Mae West and Cary Grant. Miss. West was up to her best and bawdiest one-liners and Mr. Grant was just a young whippersnapper. The movie was truly a treasure. In the recent past she has linked us to “Horse Feathers”, the Marx Brothers classic and also to “The 39 Steps”, an Alfred Hitchcock thriller. Keep ‘em coming Pamela, and thanks.