[kinghorse]

When I said my son had to be calmed down I did it by explaining in America we are guided by principles that allow everyone to share in the glory of our nation. It doesn't matter how you worship (as long as you aren't advocating violence), who you are, what you look like, you are welcome to live you life and raise your children freely. The people here overwhelmingly are here because they want to share in our blessed freedom.

[glorgau]

I've seen Apocalypto. Think of it as "Quest for Fire" set in the Yucatan.

Just a story about a family man trying to do his best for his own in the only world he knows. ;-)

It's a good flick.

[Rapscallion]

The theme of Apocalypto is a good one. Fear is a disabling disease. You can cure it only by fighting back with everything you have.

[Old Professer]

My big problem is the choice of the title for the thing, Apocalypto; sounds like a Latin-American dance.

[Albion Wilde]

I tell you, there's a resurgence and pride among our youth regarding our culture's rationality and civility that shouldn't be discounted. Mel's Gibson's Apocalypto is the latest example of this belief and the need to defend and promote, for lack of a better word, a divine way.

Praise God, may it be so! Amen!

Beautiful essay. I, too, have to have hope. My kid is a 20 something grad student in international studies. I spoke about some of my own discouragement with the old hippie agenda recently, and my kid said, "Have faith in the next generation. Maybe enough of us don't want to live like that any more."

[Caipirabob]

The user reviews at Yahoo give it glowing reviews.

[RobbyS]

One quibble: what is in the heart of man and produces such cruelty is not his "animal' nature --animals seldom are cruel--but the sin that resides there, easting away at its vitality until it kills us. Sin--which is separation from God--can turn us,as it were. into incarnate demons.

[wmileo]

I was going to see this film until I heard from a Gibson Spokesman that it was a Bush Bashing film in disguise of a semi-historic epic. Gibson compared the main Mayan leader who wanted to bring back the old ways by supporting the Human Sacrifice as a bush like character. After learning of that, I decided not to see the film. I am tired of Hollywood types capitalizing on the unpopularity of GWB to make money on a movie. If I was that interested in the Mayans, I would rather read a book written by a historian than see a movie produced by an antisemitic drunk.

[weegee]

The whole concept of stability is a concept of death.

It's part of my problem with the Bambi concept of natural history, where everything is beautiful and cute and benign. It's not the world. The world isn't like that at all.

You're either 'prey, you're an 'enemy', or you're 'ignored'.

Now think about all the islands. Island wildlife was wiped out because people could walk up to them with a stick and hit it on the head because it's much easier to kill something that doesn't see you as an enemy. By the time they realized it, they were extinct.

Ray Mendez, mole rat specialist, quoted from the documenty Fast, Cheap, & Out of Control (1997)