I have found myself watching a lot of Westerns, recently…great old television shows like “Have Gun, Will Travel” with Richard Boone, “Bat Masterson”, “Wyatt Earp,”, and, of course, “Maverick”. I have also been watching Western Movies, lately. The other night, I was watching an old Western titled “Dark Command”. It was a fictionalized account of Quantrill’s Raiders, starring Walter Pidgeon as the villainous Quantrill, with Claire Trevor, Gabby Hayes, a young Roy Rogers, and, of course, the Duke himself, John Wayne.

I have always liked John Wayne.

When I started dating my bride, I found out that she was a John Wayne fan, as well. She owns most, if not all, of his library of films on video tape and owns a couple of collectible dolls, as well.

She also owns The Duke, himself. Well, not the actual Duke, but a life-size cardboard cut-out of him, that sits in the corner of our dining room.

In the other corner of the dining room, sits a John Wayne Grandfather Clock. I kid you not.

When I brought my bride home for good, I brought “The Duke” home, as well. It was a package deal.

Anyway, I was sitting at my computer this morning, trying to come up with something to write about, when a thought occurred to me:

What would John Wayne, American Patriot, think about our country and the shape we’re in, brought about by those who want to “radically change” her?

Here is what he said about the subject, back in 1975. It could have just as easily have been yesterday.

…I always thought I was a liberal but I came up terribly surprised when I found I was a right wing conservative extremist…I have always listened to every human being I’ve ever met about how I should feel.  But this so-called new liberal group… they never listen to your point of view and they make a decision as to what you think and they’re articulate enough and in control of enough of the press to force that image out for the average person.  For some reason, maybe it’s these pictures, they have not been able to do that with me…it hasn’t affected my career in popularity in spite of the fact that they’ve tried to make them do it.  There isn’t a hell of a lot we can do to change human behavior.  We keep making laws to try to change human behavior but we can’t do it…You’re being conned into Keynesianism and socialism now but it isn’t going to stop the selfishness of human behavior.  It isn’t going to stop the greed.  If you take $20 and give a dollar to every son of a b!tch in the room, you come back a year later one of the b@st@rds will have most of the money.  It’s just human nature.  We’re never gonna whip it with a lot of laws. 

As communication gets better and you make people conscious of somebody in trouble, starving or something like that, the average person will help…I think there are people who try to affect a thinking where they know more than some other son of a b!tch and try to pull a false impression on what human nature is.  We’ve proven we go back to hope at the first opportunity…and bam they’re out there ready to grab it.  So we are optimistic; we have to be optimistic.  What else would we be if you lose optimism?”

One of the Facebook Pages on which I post my blog everyday, belongs to Senator Ted Cruz (R, TX). A while back, a young Liberal, evidently on the Conservative Senator’s Facebook Page simply for the purpose of disruption, decided that she did not like the subject of my post, and went on a multiple-comment diatribe against capitalism and all things American. When I asked her to get back to the subject of the blog, she refused to, and I was forced to block her.

It’s amazing how the Internet has become a reflection of our political reality. Every website and Facebook Page, where there is political discussion,unless they are just Pro-one-way-or-the-other, puts out a plea for civil discourse in discussions that are on their site.

Unfortunately though, that never seems to happen. And, why is that?

In our American culture today, the art of civil discourse has degenerated into a shouting match…especially on the Social Media, such as Twitter and Facebook Political Pages.

This wouldn’t be so bad, if both sides had the right to shout equally as loud as the other side.

The problem is, as John Wayne experienced, back in 1975, for some reason Conservatives are expected to mind our manners, be meek and mild, and follow the Marquis of Queensbury rules, while Liberals, libertarians, and Moderates (Social Liberals) call us everything but a child of God.

However, this doesn’t just happen on the Internet, this happens in the Real World as well… and it all starts with the President of the United States and trickles down from there.

Before Obama became President, in a private fund raiser in Pennsylvania, he referred to us American Conservatives as bitter clingers, clinging to our guns and Bibles. Then, the Main Stream Media, totally in love with their new messiah, told everyone who would listen, that if you did not vote for Barack Hussein Obama as President, you are a racist.

When Conservatives started to dig up historical facts about Obama, both the Republicans and the Democrats told us to sit down, shut up, and know “our role”.

After Obama was elected, and the country started to find out just exactly who he was, Conservatives started to speak out again. Again, we were told to sit down, shut up, and know our “role”.

Finally, we had enough and began a groundswell which led to the formation of  what has become known as the Tea Party.

The rise of the Tea Party movement and America’s continuing return to Conservatism, which resulted in the political massacres known as the 2010 and 2014 Midterm Elections, was a complete and utter surprise to them.  In their self-imposed isolation, they actually thought that the America people wanted them to continue their deal-making, soul-selling, business-as-usual politics.

They were in shock when American Conservatives stood up on their hind legs and gave the House of Representatives back to the Republican Party.

And, you know what happened after both Midterm Elections?

“Moderate” Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner and the rest of the GOP establishment,once again, told us to sit down, shut up, and know our “role”.

Are you beginning to see a pattern, boys and girls?

You see, the Moderate or Socially Liberal Republicans, just like the Liberal Democrats, expect us to behave like a dog who has been whipped too much, and go cower in a corner or obey their orders in a dutiful fashion, coming when they call for us to vote for them in the next election.

Their expectation of Conservative Behavior is predicated on the fact that they know that we were raised right, and that the majority of us are Christians and were raised to respect authority.

Therefore, Moderate Republicans and Liberal Democrats feel as if they can take advantage of the good nature of American Conservatives, and walk all over us.

Well, I’ve got some news for them.

As a Christian American Conservative, I do my best to live my faith, every day.

However, boys and girls, don’t forget… Jesus ran the money changers out of the temple.

And, just like in those old Westerns, which I have become fond of watching, Good will eventually triumph over Evil.

As The Duke said, way back in 1975,

…we have to be optimistic.  What else would we be if you lose optimism?

Until He Comes,

KJ