By Butler Shaffer
While Boobus Americanus – and other denizens of the shallow end of the gene pool – eagerly await tomorrow’s outpouring of films about how John Wayne courageously fought to save the back-lot of Republic Pictures from the Japanese hordes, one channel, Encore West, is now showing the greatest libertarian film ever – and one of the best anti-war pictures – “Shenandoah.” Starring Jimmy Stewart, this movie keeps providing anti-state, anti-war rhetoric, so much so that, the first time I saw it (1965?) I kept expecting the Stewart character to break and see the patriotic light: he never does.
I find it amazing that, when I mention this movie to libertarians, a very large number of them have never even heard of it, much less seen it. Should you tire of the war-loving bilge on the other channels, see if Encore West repeats it. If not, go rent a copy and watch it. Neither Confederate flags nor “Stars-and-Stripes” rule the day in this one: it’s all about the individual (and his property) against the state!
The above originally appeared at LewRockwell.com.
Shenandoah truly is a great movie. I've seen it a couple of dozen times, since I was a kid.
ReplyDelete"My sons don't belong to the State!"
Most westerners and cowboys in particular have been pretty much anti-statist, but I doubt if any of them who lived in the era portrayed in the movie would have had any idea what a libertarian was, unless they thought that the folks at the library might be involved.
ReplyDeleteWhether or not they knew of a political thought called libertarian is besides the point. There were plenty of folks who hated the State as much as any modern libertarian today. That's the important part.
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