Good Guys

And Bad Guys

I grew up in a TV and movie world where the good guys won, and the bad guys got theirs in the end. That’s what makes enduring this particular time of history so difficult, I suppose, living under a White House regime of almost comically bad, bad guys.

I was born after World War Two, which the good guys obviously won. I grew up with Superman, who stood for ‘truth, justice and the American way.’ Batman always, eventually, beat the Joker and the Riddler. Matt Dillon got shot more times that we could count, but Doc would patch him up, and he always prevailed, keeping Dodge City safe from the bad guys. Against nearly impossible odds, Will Kane (Gary Cooper), the town Marshall, still did what needed to be done in High Noon. We could sure use a Gary Cooper right now, although I’m not naïve enough to think that’s how real life is likely gonna work.

Heather Cox Richardson, the Boston College historian, who writes her daily Letters From An American, has been a prominent voice of perspective, morality and reason the past few years. She refers often to the phony toxic western masculinity of ‘might makes right’, and ‘individuals standing up to big, bad government’, that was adopted by Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan and the Republican ethos long ago. And although I buy her point, I also remember then Senator Goldwater going to Richard Nixon to tell him that the jig was up, and resignation was the only recourse. I want to believe that morality still played a prominent role in that meeting.

I watched an episode of Gunsmoke recently, where although Matt Dillon was once again the winner of a tough fight under almost impossible odds, the citizens of Dodge City suddenly appeared from the rocks around him, guns drawn, overwhelming the rest of the outlaw gang and marching ‘em off to the hoosegow. The good people of Dodge had Matt’s back. I take some hope and comfort in that.