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May 20, 2007 is the 99th birthday of my all-time favorite actor, the great James Stewart. In 1940, Jimmy and an excellent cast made a wonderful film called "The Mortal Storm," based on a book of the same title published in 1938. A highly acclaimed anti-fascist novel, 'The Mortal Storm' was written by English novelist Phyllis Bottome. She had been in Nazi Germany and saw firsthand what was happening there in the early to mid-1930's. The film was release on June 14, 1940. It is remarkable, penetrating, and chillingly prescient cautionary tale of socially accepted blind obedience, collective mentality, and narrow-minded self-righteousness: an indelible -- and continually relevant -- portrait of true compassion and human courage in the face of a prevailing, inhuman tide of intolerance and aggression.

When Hitler saw this movie he banned all MGM films from Nazi occupied Europe. That is how powerful this movie is. Top-notch acting, high production values, and a thought provoking-script highlight this story about life in Nazi Germany for an average family, whose father is "non-Aryan." The message of this film of standing up against adversity and what you believe in, is as fresh today as in 1940 when this film was released. Interesting note: the German Ambassador to U.S. asked Louis B. Mayer to "think twice" about releasing this movie. Mayer, of course, ignored the warning.

I'm including this little tribute to James Stewart, a war hero, and to this film, because it's message, written when the Soviets and Nazis were still allies, and when their brand of totalitarianism was still ascendant, because I marvel at how easily people today allow their free speech to be curtailed. What Jimmy and all our Armed Forces have fought for since the Revolution is too precious to take lightly. Free speech. I have a right to it. You have a right to it. People with whom we disagree have a right to it. But it will be a cold day in that very hot place before I let a bunch of rag-tag, intolerant individuals on an internet forum shut down my speech by chasing me off FR or any other public forum on which I choose to participate!

Although I understand fully why other long-time FReepers have left this forum for what they think may be greener -- meaning safer, less quarrelsome -- pastures, I don't agree with allowing oneself to be chased off. The great thing about the internet is that we can freely join as many forums (of all kinds) as we wish, and to participate on the all simultaneously. They are all virtual town squares and serve the same purpose as physical town squares used to serve before the advent of modern communications. Because they are virtual one is not limited by the constraints of the physical world. We also enjoy a degree of anonymity on the internet that shields us from all but the rough-and-tumble of competing, sometimes diametrically opposed ideas all being tossed together in a virtual town square like FR. No one can physically beat us up, as happened in Nazi Germany. No one can shoot us as happened in Boston in 1770 (Boston Massacre). No one can throw us into the Gulag. So if we don't have the mild courage it takes to hold our ground here, where will we hold it if we are attacked by a real enemy?

Seems to me we know the answer to that question when it is posed to Leftist Democrats. But what about us?

Pinging you to the Sunday Dose, with pics of the President in Crawford.

first?

Thanks for opening Sanity Island for us. I am grateful for it tonight. A fellow FReeper and FRiend from the Canteen, Grandeagle, passed away suddenly yesterday and it’s been a very sad 24 hours for me and those who knew him.

I am glad that the president got to be “home” for a little while. He needs to be recharged. This has been a bad couple of months for him...and for us.

I agree with your message, Wolf.

It would be a tragedy if it takes the ascent of Hitlery to bring us back together again.

Great Dose, Wolfstar :)

And to everything you wrote in post #1 ...

BRAVO!

What an odd coincidence. I saw "The Mortal Storm" (for about the 3rd or 4th time) just last night. It is a truly great film.

Every time that I see it, I draw a different comparison. Last night it reminded me of some of the now departed BushBots who tried to silence anyone who refused to hero worship President Bush. They reminded me of the brownshirts who would attack anyone who suggested that "The Fuhrer" was imperfect.

But they're mostly gone now, thank goodness. The Bushbots, not the brownshirts (I'd say that they're gone, too, but thankfully they were never here).