MONUMENTS AND PEACE TALKS

MONUMENT'S MEN was a good popcorn movie.  It was a "true" story with exciting moments and inspiring moments which allowed the swell of patriotism.  How welcome!

The premise was a little hard to swallow when it asked us to believe that seven men could accomplish the mission.  In fact, history records that over 300 undertook the assignment.  But we can handle that tweak because Monument's Men gave us a lot that is right to celebrate.

Besides, with a limited number of characters, girls can gaze into Matt Damon's eyes and they can study Bill Murray's face, a canvas that records amazing emotion.  And then there's George.  It struck me as I watched the movie that George Clooney is our Clark Gable.

And for the guys, there's shoot-em-ups and explosions.

Yesterday Netflix delivered THE REMAINS OF THE DAY.  It was nominated for 8 Academy Awards and was a period piece, true to detail.  But oh, it was like paint drying.  The only explosions in that one were within Anthony Hopkins, whose face only barely gave them away.  Very British.  Hopkins was the "Mr. Carson" of an English estate before WW2 and the story was about how his employer, the Earl of Darlington, was completely duped by the Germans.

While the honorable Lord Darlington carried on high level peace conferences at his estate (pushing for German appeasement), the Germans were accelerating toward war.

Late in the movie, a German contingency arrived at the manor and were put in his study, where they peered intently at his art.  And under the cover of their own language, the German ambassador coldly told his assistant to "mark the Renoir down for later".  Monument's Men helped us understand that reference!

It's hard not to see history repeating today as Secretary of State John Kerry now goes about to conferences singing "give peace a chance" while our adversaries have quite another agenda.  They SAY they want to kill us; they DEMONSTRATE they are killers.  Other world leaders warn us.  Yet we are smitten with promises from Syria to remove chemical weapons...and from Iran that they have peaceful use for their nuclear arsenal.

More alarming still is yesterday's news from Secretary Kerry.  Speaking to Indonesian college students on his tour, he oddly remarked "Climate change can now be considered another weapon of mass destruction, perhaps the world's most fearsome weapon of mass destruction."  

What?  We stare down Iran's REAL nuclear acceleration, Syria's REAL chemical weapons, the REAL intentions of Russia and China, the Arab Spring's REAL terroristic volatility, and nuclear North Korea's coldblooded boy-leader's REAL malevolence.  Yet Secretary Kerry would have us believe that sparkly thing out in left field (the unsettled science) is settled science which is a weapon of mass destruction.  Really, Secretary Kerry?  While declared intentions have no connection to reality?

Methinks if the weather will get us, the weather will have to get in line.  Good grief!  Flat Earth Society, indeed.

The Monument's Men had noble loyalties while Lord Darlington's loyalties were misguided.  Was Darlington's understanding based on a high IQ, but low common sense?  Either way, his good sense did not serve him well.  With a ruined name after the war, Lord Darlington was ostracized as a traitor and died alone.

But we should not be confused.  Lord Darlington was a character in a movie, but the real British appeaser was Neville Chamberlain (pictured below).  In Chamberlain's day, the Nazi threat was just as real as today's terrorism threat.  Lord, give us leadership who realize that.