“Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who’s gonna do it? You? You, {Mr. Mathews}?
I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago’s death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don’t want the truth because deep down, in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want me on that wall. You need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punch line.
I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just
said thank you, and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post. Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you are entitled to.”
Jack Nicholson, “A Few Good Men.”
TC
I like that quote. Interesting to me, I just used Col. Jessup in a comparison as an illustration of the direction our country has taken.
Consider the Caine Mutiny. Commander Queeg is not a sympathetic figure. But at the end, the lawyer for the crew gives them heck for ruining a naval officer’s career.
In A Few Good Men, when Col. Jessup is broken down, it’s a climax and something the legal team aspired to. They wanted to get Jessup, Jessup was the bad guy.
In my estimation, Col. Jessup is a much more sympathetic character than Cmdr Queeg, yet we now celebrate taking such a man down. Any wonder we are where we are as a nation?