American Sniper

I watched American Sniper, and found it gripping. Let’s just say that at the end I was glad the credit roll lasted long enough for the tears in my eyes to dry. As we left the theatr, the audience clapped…a muted clap because, of course, the hero died. Moist hands do not clap well.

A tragic end, for certain. Kyle had a rare combination of skill and judgement. He was a true American Hero and one of the few about whom we know, because of the movie.

This was the first movie I attended in an actual theatr for decades, and I found the new sound systems to be the most impressive thing — and the cost of popcorn!

My first takeaway from the film is that the nation continues to breed patriots, particularly from Texas and the Southern states. I was born in Alabama and raised in Texas, and I can attest that in that axis, men — and it is men in particular, men talk of America with tears in their eyes, and it breeds in them a drive to serve. I joined the Junior Yanks of America and drilled with wooden rifles before I was 10 years old, spent more than six years in military school, then two years as an Enlisted Man in the Navy, went to and graduated from the Naval Academy at Annapolis, and spent 20 years as an officer — primarily in submarines.

Going into the military was preordained by the culture in which I was raised. The Star Spangled Banner still brings tears to my eyes. Texans from small towns are indeed patriotic.

The second takeaway was the price that families pay for our service. It is often unrecognized by those in the services because the intensity of our work, and our interest in doing it well — because always other depend upon our actions ( in Submarines, one mistake can easily cost the lives of all, because Submarines do not fail in just one compartment), and we live in our own bubble. Our wives tell us that the hot water heater failed the day after we deployed, or of children’s sickness, but it does not register as much as when we are home.

So I got two messages from the film — and neither was any glorification of war. War is not glorious — victory is indeed glorious., but war is endless and victories are followed by long periods of more war.

I am certain that the American Sniper movies’ success galls many liberals. With Obama in the White House for six years and counting, conservatives must appreciate small victories when they can.