Recently, Michael Moore made some ill-advised comments about the movie American Sniper, the story about the late SEAL sniper Chris Kyle who had the most confirmed kills by an American sniper until his tragic and untimely death at the hands of a deranged Marine whom he was helping. By now, many people are familiar with what Mr. Moore said, but to refresh everyone's recollection, Mr. Moore said:
My uncle killed by a sniper in WW2. We were taught that snipers were cowards. Will shoot you in the back. Snipers aren't heroes. And invaders r worse.
Heaps of scorn were immediately leveled at Mr. Moore, and with some good reason. Seth Rogen weighed in, likening the movie to Nazi propaganda. After the guns of dissent were trained on him, he backpedaled his way to the border. His comments were more ignorant than anything.
First, as to Mr. Moore's comments, there is some historical truth to what he says. When sniping really became a viable military tool, in World War I, there were many who regarded snipers as cowards. As Martin Pegler points out in his history of sniping, Out of Nowhere, sniping was regarding as cowardly, although no one complained about the use of gas, artillery or the use of night to cloak maneuvers. Insofar as Mr. Moore's comments relate to cowardice, then, and his family's reaction to his uncle's death in World War II are concerned, it's somewhat understandable that they would have felt that way.
Dean Cain, a product of an Ivy League education no less, took great offense at Mr. Moore's comments, suggesting that Mr. Moore say something derogatory about Chris Kyle to his face and they'd see who was a coward. He also took issue with Mr. Rogen, telling him he'd like to kick his ass.
Almost as if on cue, professional know-it-all leapt into the fray, challenging Mr. Cain's right to stand up to Mssrs. Moore and Rogen, First, and quite incoherently, he tweeted:
Did Dean Cain threaten Seth Rogen? And isn't that the same kind of trouble thinking that got Chris Kyle killed?
First, I'm quite sure that Mr. Cain would admit he'd threatened Mr. Rogen, so that's a throwaway question. The second question is positively stupid. Chris Kyle was killed by a troubled Marine veteran who is probably going to plead not guilty by reason of insanity in his trial. Mr. Kyle was trying to help a fellow veteran. He wasn't killed by some hyper-macho behavior that went too far.
Undeterred, Mr. Baldwin pivoted and asked in what branch of the military Mr. Cain served, as if he only had a right to question the comments of Mssrs. Moore and Rogen if he'd served in the military. The world's smartest man forgot a couple of rhetorical points: First, don't ask of one's opponent something that one can't prove himself. Second, don't ask a question where others can trump one's bona fides in spades.
Quickly it was asked of Mr. Baldwin in what branch Mr. Baldwin himself had served. Understandably, if he's going to question Mr. Cain's credentials, he should have been able to withstand the same scrutiny, which he couldn't. But the torrent of abuse that followed was predictable, even if Mr. Baldwin himself couldn't see it: Veterans came out in droves to question Mr. Baldwin's challenge to Mr. Cain. I don't follow Mr. Baldwin's Twitter account -- or anyone else's, for that matter -- but a quick check shows that there's nary a negative comment there from veterans appalled by Mr. Baldwin sticking his nose into the controversy defending Mssrs. Moore and Rogen. Yet if I check online for comments directed at Mr. Baldwin I find countless replies putting Mr. Baldwin in his place.
The First Amendment gives us the right to say whatever we think. What we say doesn't have to be the brightest, most insightful thing ever uttered. But like a bell once rung, something said rarely can be taken back. Mssrs. Moore, Rogen and Baldwin stepped into it, Mr. Rogen tried to explain his original comment and wisely stepped out of the limelight. Mr. Baldwin did what he always did: Stir the pot and then ignore it like it didn't happen. Mr. Moore, to his credit, stood by his comments and continued to defend them, although he has tried to twist his meaning and deflect attention to criticism of the Bush administration again.
War is ugly. Robert E. Lee famously said that It is well that war is so terrible lest we should grow too fond of it. What Mr. Moore disregards is that men will fight for the men beside them more often than they will the cause that gave birth the fight in the first place. What Mr. Kyle did should be celebrated, not condemned as cowardly, because he sought to keep other Americans safe. If Mr. Moore's implicit criticism is that Mr. Bush wrongly sent other Americans to die, than Mr. Kyle's efforts should be all the more worthy in Mr. Moore's eyes.
Interestingly, I just saw Brad Pitt's movie Fury. As war movies go it's not bad. Not great, but not bad by any means. At the risk of spoiling the ending, Mr. Pitt's character is shot three times by a Waffen SS sniper in the climatic battle scene. Fury came out before American Sniper. If Mr. Moore was so troubled by cowardly snipers, where was his criticism about Fury, especially since his own uncle died at the hands of a German sniper.
O', wait. Fury wasn't directed by conservative Clint Eastwood.
Now who's the coward?
(c) 2015 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles
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