"The Outlaw Josey Wales:"Revenge and Judgement Day
*****
Strange bedfellows: feminist abolitionist
fundamentalist Julia Ward Howe pushes forward
in one of America's first great human rights
campaigns. Meet Clint's early prototype,
abolitionist sword wielder John Brown.
*****
"The Preacher...and Hell followed with him"
******
A book trickling down to the American frontier, the Indian fighter, the Bible toting preacher.
Trickling up to America's concept of itself as bearer of the sword of justice -- with its armies overthrowing tyrannies, enforcing upon the world God's work.
Howe: turn of the century
Listen to the tune and read the lyrics of Julia Ward Howe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic."
The lyrics were rewritten to go with the original tune of "John Brown's Body."
Julia Ward Howe, that glorious heroine of American military theological nationalism.
From this feminist New England Unitarian, a biographer of Margaret Fuller, came the Bible rich verses justifying blood on the battlefield.
Justifying the use of military power to free the slaves, as abolitionists steeped in fundamentalism pushed forward one of the first American "human rights campaigns."
A song designed to mobilize and encourage Union soldiers in their righteous combat against a slaveholding Confederacy. To do "God's work" on the battlefield.
A world of spiritual and military warfare where good and evil reign supreme.
That's where Clint - with his terrible swift sword of avenging justice - comes in.
Clint, perhaps a modern day version of the martyred, fervently Christian fundamentalist John Brown.
John Brown, the lifelong failure who in crazed fury chopped up his victims with swords during a vicious revenge massacre in Kansas while fighting for slavery's abolition.
His 1859 hanging after seizing the Harper's Ferry Armory in Virginia coupled the immortality of a martyr to the infamy of a butcher.
The Clint of his day.
Julia, John Brown, and Clint -- strange bedfellows, but bedfellows just the same.
Yesterday's feminist becomes today's fundamentalist.
Fundamentalism with veangeful justice around individual grievances -- or fundamentalism with violent fervour around grandiose social causes?
They are not all the same, but they tend to sleep in the same bed.
Howe: circa 1861
As we move forward into a new stage of Afghanistan, we can see that Obama seeks to tone down the Clint Eastwood rhetoric, so famously used by President George Bush.
Still the Eastwood strain, deeply rooted in American history and religious culture, is an important part of mobilizing for war when much blood and treasure is at stake.
It is difficult to mobilize for sacrifice without demonizing your enemy.
This may be a challenge for the cool, cerebral Obama -- if substantial casualties continue.
******Still the Eastwood strain, deeply rooted in American history and religious culture, is an important part of mobilizing for war when much blood and treasure is at stake.
It is difficult to mobilize for sacrifice without demonizing your enemy.
This may be a challenge for the cool, cerebral Obama -- if substantial casualties continue.
So when making war, it's nice to have a bit of Christian fundamentalism on one's side.
Tired of those Islamic folks having a monopoly on apocalyptic visions, symbolism and zealous religious calls to arms?
Let's see what WE have.
The strict moral codes of the Old Testament combined with the apocalyptic visions of persecution, prophecy, judgement, death and resurrection.
All found in symbolic form within the New Testament Book of Revelations.
Click here for the Chapter Six account of the Lamb opening the first six of the Seven Seals.
Tired of those Islamic folks having a monopoly on apocalyptic visions, symbolism and zealous religious calls to arms?
Let's see what WE have.
The strict moral codes of the Old Testament combined with the apocalyptic visions of persecution, prophecy, judgement, death and resurrection.
All found in symbolic form within the New Testament Book of Revelations.
Click here for the Chapter Six account of the Lamb opening the first six of the Seven Seals.
******
A book trickling down to the American frontier, the Indian fighter, the Bible toting preacher.
Trickling up to America's concept of itself as bearer of the sword of justice -- with its armies overthrowing tyrannies, enforcing upon the world God's work.
Howe: turn of the centuryListen to the tune and read the lyrics of Julia Ward Howe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic."
The lyrics were rewritten to go with the original tune of "John Brown's Body."
Julia Ward Howe, that glorious heroine of American military theological nationalism.
From this feminist New England Unitarian, a biographer of Margaret Fuller, came the Bible rich verses justifying blood on the battlefield.
Justifying the use of military power to free the slaves, as abolitionists steeped in fundamentalism pushed forward one of the first American "human rights campaigns."
A song designed to mobilize and encourage Union soldiers in their righteous combat against a slaveholding Confederacy. To do "God's work" on the battlefield.
A world of spiritual and military warfare where good and evil reign supreme.
******
That's where Clint - with his terrible swift sword of avenging justice - comes in.
Clint, perhaps a modern day version of the martyred, fervently Christian fundamentalist John Brown.
John Brown, the lifelong failure who in crazed fury chopped up his victims with swords during a vicious revenge massacre in Kansas while fighting for slavery's abolition.
His 1859 hanging after seizing the Harper's Ferry Armory in Virginia coupled the immortality of a martyr to the infamy of a butcher.
The Clint of his day.
Julia, John Brown, and Clint -- strange bedfellows, but bedfellows just the same.
Yesterday's feminist becomes today's fundamentalist.
Fundamentalism with veangeful justice around individual grievances -- or fundamentalism with violent fervour around grandiose social causes?
They are not all the same, but they tend to sleep in the same bed.
Howe: circa 1861******
When dealing with scenes of the Christian Apocalypse, it is always nice to have Wikipedia to fall back upon.And a bit of Clint Eastwood, the master himself.
Some of you may enjoy this ecclesiastical portrayal below of the End Times.
Careful, you may have to shoot a pale horse.
When you see that pale horse coming,
that's death itself: open fire with
.45 cal. cap and ball horse killers!
But wait, what if it's a white horse?
That could be evil, the anti-Christ --
or it could be Christ himself.
Careful you don't shoot
the wrong horse.
******
Check your Wikipedia to see just
how hard it is to tell.
"The Outlaw Josey Wales:"
a time for righteous revenge
.45 cal. cap and ball horse killers!
But wait, what if it's a white horse?
That could be evil, the anti-Christ --
or it could be Christ himself.
Careful you don't shoot
the wrong horse.
******
Check your Wikipedia to see just
how hard it is to tell.
"The Outlaw Josey Wales:"
a time for righteous revenge
******
Behold, below, a pale horse of death bears a rider, "the stranger," seeking revenge in "High Plains Drifter:"
1 comment:
This is very interesting article about pale horse:
http://koti.phnet.fi/petripaavola/palehorse.html
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