Lessons Of 'The 300'

Post-Gazette.com ^ | March 25, 2007 | Jack kelly

[RDTF]

A society that does not value its warriors will be destroyed by one that does.

A low-budget movie with no recognized stars that presents a cartoonish version of an event that happened long ago and far away is a surprising box office hit.

The movie is "The 300," about the battle in 480 B.C. at Thermopylae between Greeks and Persians. Its opening grossed more than $70 million, more than the next 10 highest grossing movies playing that weekend combined.

"The 300" has been denounced by the government of Iran, and the battle it describes was cited by former Vice President Al Gore in his congressional testimony Wednesday as inspiration for Americans to fight global warming. That's a lot of buzz.

"The 300" has plenty of violence, sex and the largest number of ripped abdomens ever seen on the silver screen, which doubtless counts for much of its appeal. But there is more to it than that.

"The 300" is a simple story of good versus evil. A handful of valiant Spartan warriors, inspired by love of country and love of liberty, fight to the death against a foreign oppressor. (Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here, obedient to their laws, we lie.)

-snip-

"300" is soaked with the masculine virtues of courage, honor, patriotism and self-sacrifice, and the camaraderie that exists among fighting men who have been through a shared ordeal. These are little valued in Hollywood or contemporary society, and there is a hunger for them. This, I think, is the key to the movie's appeal.

We need to rediscover these virtues. At once the most preposterous and the most dangerous of contemporary beliefs is "nothing was ever settled by violence."

-snip-

[Dumb_Ox]

Lesson: slaveholders are the most zealous guardians of their liberties.

"How is it that we hear the greatest yelps of liberty from the drivers of Negroes?"
-Samuel Johnson

[jveritas]

What an idiotic statement. It is the US military who spread freedom and hope around the world, it is that US military that liberated hundreds of millions of people in the last 60 years, and has preserved our freedom, our way of life and the freedom of untold millions.

PS: Your time on FR will be short.

[Longinus]

The concept of homosexuality is a recent construct. There was no such word or idea in the ancient world - with that said - the sexual lifestyles of the ancients is not rated PG.

WHat I remember from classical history is that Spartan brides had their hair cut off short and dressed like boys for the wedding night - probably because the male Spartan would not have seen a female up close for a while and the confusion would have not allowed him to 'perform' so making her look like a boy was supposed to ease the transition into the female form. There was also a simulated rape or kidnap ceremony of the bride.

In their marriages, the [Spartan] husband carried off his bride by a sort of force; nor were their brides ever small and of tender years [Other Greek states preferred child brides - Spartans liked them more mature in age to better handle child birth], but in their full bloom and ripeness. After this, she who superintended the wedding comes and clips the hair of the bride close round her head, dresses her up in man's clothes, and leaves her upon a mattress in the dark; afterwards comes the bridegroom, in his everyday clothes, sober and composed, as having supped at the common table, and, entering privately into the room where the bride lies, unties her virgin zone, and takes her to himself; and, after staying some time together, he returns composedly to his own apartment, to sleep as usual with the other young men. And so he continues to do, spending his days, and, indeed, his nights, with them, visiting his bride in fear and shame, and with circumspection, when he thought he should not be observed she, also, on her part, using her wit to help and find favourable opportunities for their meeting, when company was out of the way. In this manner they lived a long time, insomuch that they sometimes had children by their wives before ever they saw their faces by daylight.

[Longinus]

"That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people trained to arms, is the proper, natural and safe defense of a free state; that standing armies in time of peace should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power." -George Mason, Article 13 of the Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776.

"Whenever governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins." -Rep. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, spoken during floor debate over the Second Amendment, I Annals of Congress at 750, August 17, 1789.

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist." - President Dwight D. Eisenhower and former General of the Army. Not a founding father but a great Republican president.

If my time here is short its is a shame yours was long seeing as you lack any first hand knowledge of the Founding Father's thoughts.

[RDTF]

Do me a favor and don't ping me with your self-absorbed know-it-all diatribes. You are fortunate folks here have been polite to you. Anyone that pushes their welcome this far and long isn't forgotten, and will soon run out of true contributors to this site to antagonize.

[Longinus]

better a know it all then a know nothing. Let me know if find a factual error on my part.

[jveritas]

Those were the opinions of some people but not the Founding Fathers general consensus. The Founding Father established the Army and the Marines later on to protect the United States of America, her people, and her Constitution, and they sow the seeds for the mightiest military force in history of mankind, the US military. Thank you Founding Fathers!

As I told before, you time on FR will be short.

[jveritas]

Go away troll. Tonight kneel down and give prayers for all the troops of past who fought for our freedom and our way of life and pray for the troops of the present who are doing the same. Shame on you.

[Longinus]

you go away - in all your posts you threaten other posters to leave because they offended your narrow world view. By the way did you hate the GOP for voting against the Kosovo war...

[jveritas]

Listen idiot troll. Clinton went to the war in Kosovo alone with no Congress approval. In fact the Senate did not even consider voting on a bill to declare the war against Kosovo.

[Longinus]

So you did not support the troops then?

I mean we did liberate Kosovo for Muslim jihadis over their evil Christian rulers. So is that the liberation force you were talking about?

[RDTF]

GET LOST - If you can't contribute properly to this site, and do it peacefully, then you are not welcome here. You need to earn the right to be here and run your mouth the way you do, pal.

[jveritas]

Listen idiot:

I did support the troops in any war they fight and I support their mission as well no matter what. You should do the same. Also the mission in Kosovo was not to support muslim terrorists as you said in this lie post of yours. Stop lying and go away. What is you previous freeper name before you got banned, tell me coward.

[jveritas]

He is still breathing and causing trouble. He is either a troll or a retread.

[RDTF]

Imagine what a know-it-all that always has to have the last word is like to live or work with. Yikes.

[jveritas]

Pretty disgusting, no doubt.

[Longinus]

Tell me one post that was inappropriate. Double dare you.

[RDTF]

We have a newbie troublemaker on Free Republic, bent on antagonizing everyone here and shaking up our harmonious existence.

[Longinus]

Then you need to be consistent - I support the troops in everything they do. Why? Because they are citizen soldiers.

Our freedoms come from the assembled citizens not any abstract organization like the military. In fact in doing what you did - talking about the military as a separate caste you make a grave error that goes against republican (small r like in republican Rome) ideals.

You speak of the military as if it is a caste like was seen in Prussia or some old European power or in Latin America.

Sorry if you were not able to understand that.