20080516

High Noon

I had an opportunity to watch the 1952 movie "High Noon" again last weekend, but viewed it this time in the context of the counseling we provide. Faced with the threats of a murderous outlaw gang (representing impending broken health and unhappiness), the Hadleyville townspeople offered fearful excuses for not getting involved to save their own town. Newly wed marshal, Will Kane (Gary Cooper), put his own health and relationship with his new bride (Grace Kelly) at risk in order to invest in (rescue) a town that refused to invest in itself, which, from our perspective for counseling, is not a good investment, both for personal health reasons, and also because, for whatever good is accomplished, it won't be sustained. He was portrayed as heroic, but in fact was foolish.

However, looked at from the perspective of community / national security, the hard choice was to deal with terror at any cost where it presented itself, rather than run from it to live under its threat for a lifetime.

Also: The church people were portrayed as mostly nut cases (fearful, angry, and condemning), which is sometimes the reality, but not always, thankfully.

Don Loy Whisnant/Journey Notes 8E16
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