Good German referenced Casablanca, but that was set back in World War II again. What’s the point of that?
WWII was the last time we had a universally identified “bad guy”. Those on the left revile the Nazis because they invaded the Soviet Union, those on the right revile the Nazis because they were bent on dominating the world with their left-wing freedom-destroying ideology. Hitler, the great uniter!
You can’t have a great patriotic film when the filmmakers, and a good part of the country, misunderstand the conflict. The common refrain when talking about the Islamofascists (and Hugo Chavez) is “why do they hate us?”. But the thugs don’t hate us, they fear us. They fear what the advance of our ideology will do to their power base. How much power will the Imams have when Muslims start to think for themselves? The argument “why do they hate us” makes it our fault, it means we’ve done something wrong, we’re to blame and must take steps to rectify our behavior. In reality, we have nothing to apologize for and we should be loudly proclaiming the virtues of freedom, liberty and the free market.
But, that’s a serious problem. Think back… how many times in recent history have we heard a clear message that the US stands for freedom? I can only recall two:
- In 1963 when John F. Kennedy made his “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech in Berlin
- In 1987 when Ronald Reagan made his “Tear down this wall” speech, also in Berlin
Sure, Bush made his “Bush Doctrine” speech and he made a statement while atop the rubble in New York but, much like the Democrats after the JFK assassination, he’s dropped the ball. He’s bought into the notion that the free-world causes the oppression in the thug regimes.
You just can’t make a good patriotic groveling apology film.
