Author Archives
David Churchill Barrow
This 4th of July Remember that the American Revolution was More Restoration than Revolution
Were the shopkeepers and farmers who took up arms at Lexington and Concord to fire “the shot heard ’round the world” out to turn their society upside down, they way the French peasantry would attempt a decade or so later? No, in fact the opposite. They were endeavoring to keep what they already had. They fired upon troops sent by a king and his minions who had forgotten that despite being “colonials” they were Englishmen first and foremost, with all the rights and privileges thereunto belonging. (As an aside, this is why Paul Revere never rode through towns yelling “The British are coming! The British are coming!” His hearers all considered themselves British.)
How to Honor the Fallen on Memorial Day
Keep the Clarity of Mind of William Tecumseh Sherman
Take a look even today at a map of the Southeastern United States – like Rome of old, all roads lead to Atlanta. So it was when the city fell to Union troops on September 2, 1864, to be followed by Sherman’s famous (or infamous, if you are a “Lost Cause” romantic) march to the sea. In the larger scheme of things; i.e. political, economic and psychological, the fall of Atlanta had far more significance than either the battle of Gettysburg or the fall of Vicksburg; the two events most hailed as turning points. Before its fall, Lincoln was about to be beaten in the presidential election by George McClellan, who was running on a platform of accommodation with the Confederacy. Before its fall and the march to the sea, most of the South’s railroads and manufacturing (such as they were) were still in operation. Before its fall, desertion in the Confederate armies was at least somewhat manageable. All of that changed, and the end of the war was in sight.
‘Shoot Them in the Leg’ and Other Idiocies
No, If You Have To Shoot, Shoot Center Mass
The shooting by a police officer of the knife-wielding teenager in Columbus, Ohio has summoned forth the same absurd comments by media and politicians who know nothing about firearms – and their use in adrenaline-filled situations – that we heard from Joe Biden more than once during the campaign: Perhaps the words of wisdom Miyagi gave to Daniel-San should be given unto them: “You… too much TV.” Since they do watch TV, and presumably the movies shown thereon, perhaps the most famous gunfight in the history of the United States would serve to drive the point home: If you have to shoot, put your target down.
October 26, 1881 – Tombstone, Arizona Territory. All of the participants in this fight were skilled with the powerful weapons they possessed; i.e. .44 and .45 cal. pistols, a 12 gauge double-barrel shotgun, and Winchester rifles. Some of the participants had killed men before this fight, and would kill again afterwards. When the fight commenced, the combatants were only about six feet apart in an empty lot next to Fly’s photograph studio. (Some of the “cowboys” had come through the back entrance to the OK Corral nearby, but that is its only connection to the fight.) The shooting lasted only thirty seconds, but in that time about thirty shots were fired. Consider that for a moment – six feet apart, thirty seconds, thirty shots. What were the hits?
Biden’s ‘Major’ Problem: The Challenges and Benefits of Owning a German Shepherd Dog
Behold the samurai of dog breeds!
The Biden family is to be commended for rescuing a shelter dog, but “Major” has been involved in breaking the President’s ankle, and bitten people twice on White House grounds. In some jurisdictions and under certain circumstances, that would mean a death sentence. The Bidens already have a older GSD named Champ that they have had for years, and Joe Biden claims he knows how to train them. It is clear enough, though, that due to his infirmity and/or his schedule he is unable to put what he knows, or thinks he knows, to use in socializing Major.
Book Review: Neil Gorsuch’s A Republic, If You Can Keep It
Wanted: Civics and Civility
If we are fortunate, the Civil War will be the last time we face destruction by a fire set with our own hands. The threat is now dry-rot, that spreads like a fungus from our lack of understanding of our nation’s fundamental principles, and the lack of communication skills needed to convey them to our fellow citizens. A Republic, If You Can Keep It by Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch is a plea on both counts.
Books To Give For Christmas: Battle Cry By Leon Uris, the Most Accurate Novel About the Marines Ever Written
If you happen to take my advice and give this book to someone, be careful to whom you give it; there may be unintended consequences. All three of our children loved the book, especially knowing how much it tracked the WWII experiences of their “Grandpa Barrow,” who like Uris, served in the 6th Marines, 2nd Marine Division. For all three, it was part of the inspiration to join the JROTC program in high school. For our oldest, that didn’t lead to the Marine Corps, but it did lead to West Point, deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Bronze Star – and that was a daughter.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: The Mayflower Compact Goes West
In his National Review piece Kyle Smith notes that this movie is most famous for its cynicism of the press, and the puncturing of Old West mythology; its most famous line being “This is the West, Sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” In this view, the film was pioneer postmodern. There should not be an abundance of joy in the destruction of myth. As Jordan Peterson often reminds us, shared mythology is part of the cultural cement that holds us together, just as the Arthurian legends instructed actual knights on the meaning of chivalry.
Moby Dick: Allegory of the First Order
Why Howard Butcher, you old subversive, you, teaching Moby Dick or, The Whale – a scriptural allegory that makes C.S. Lewis and John Bunyan read like Joel Osteen – to our impressionable youth. Fortunately for you, the story is so compelling and the characters so riveting and well-drawn, you will get away with it year after year.
Melville puts the reader in a biblical frame of mind straight off, before he even gets to the story, with his bizarre Extracts (Supplied by a Sub-Sub- Librarian) citing from the books of Genesis, Job, Jonah, Psalms, and Isaiah, among other quotes; which include lines from Pilgrim’s Progress and Paradise Lost. To keep us in a King James Bible mood, characters such as the ship owners Bildad and Peleg, first mate Starbuck, and it is presumed, Ahab himself, are Quakers all, keeping in their dialogue the formal “thee and thou” for which that sect was famous.
Which Is More Terrifying: The Haunting Vs. The Devil’s Advocate?
Evil from Within or Evil from Without?
When I was in 3rd or 4th grade I considered myself a horror film aficionado – mostly watching old horror classics on Friday nights like the original Dracula, or more recent B-rated schlock, like Jack Nicholson in The Terror. Then one evening I began watching 1963’s The Haunting, and had to shut it off after the first few scenes. I didn’t finish the movie until years later. The fright was from pure atmospherics; there’s no monsters jumping out at you, no blood, flesh and gore flying about – but it’s was like walking into someone else’s black & white nightmare. Martin Scorsese ranked it the best horror film of all time.
