September 15, 2009

• Patrick Swayze, R.I.P.

  The don't make them like him anymore these days.

   

  A long time ago I was surfing through the free HD channels and stumbled upon a gem from the past.  No, I'm not talking about interviews of Steve Forbes proposing the Flat Tax. I'm talking about the movie Red Dawn.
  

  In case you are too young to remember C. Thomas Howell before his role in Soul Man (he did Tropic Thunder before Robert Downey Jr. did Tropic Thunder) banished him to acting in classics like Mutant Zombie Vampires from the 'Hood, Red Dawn was a movie that came out at the frosty peak of the USA-Soviet Union cold war, about an invasion of the US by Soviet and South American/Cuban forces and a bunch of high school kids who decided to bust out a can of whoop ass guerrilla style one time for your mind on the commies. These high school kids included Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson and Jennifer Grey (before the worst nose job this side of Ashlee Simpson).

   

  I loved this movie when it came out (during elementary school).  I remember turning to the person next to me in the theater and raising my fist in triumph when the kids began fighting back. To this day, I still get chills when I see the scene of the kid standing on top of the hill screaming, "WOLVERINES!" raising his gun like Leonidas with his spear in defiance of Xerxes.  It was about good vs. evil, valor in the face of incredible odds, defending those you love and serving your country. You know, Ronald Reagan with a sawed-off shotgun kind of stuff. These kids knew that they would probably die but chose to continue fighting.

   

  Sigh. If only life did not imitate art.

   

  I say this because Patrick Swayze, the leader of the Wolverines in the movie, is now dead of pancreatic cancer. Despite his diagnosis, he continued to fight on, filming episodes of The Beast while undergoing treatment.  Like the attack on the high school in the movie, pancreatic cancer hit hard, fast and with complete surprise. I should know because my father died from it. It seems to strike only the best and I am sure that he always knew that this was a battle that he wouldn't win.

   

  Swayze was The Man.  He was the only person in history capable of making mullets look sexy, do ballroom dancing without looking like a member of Fanny Pak, and sing a sappy ballad while eviscerating you with his kung fu grip. I will mourn him now that he is gone. Not only because he was the man you always look to lead or save you, whether in Red Dawn or The Outsiders, but because he was also a symbol of a passing era.

   

  These days things are not so clear cut. Instead of good vs. evil, USA vs. the Soviet Union, we have truthers vs. birthers, health care reformers vs. "unpatriotic" public option naysayers--Americans vs. Americans.  Though I was hopeful that Barack Obama's ascension to the presidency heralded the healing that his campaign promised, the fact that many of his supporters uttered sentiments ("F#$@ Bush!) shared by people like antichrist candidates Hugo Chavez, Osama Bin Laden, Michael Moore and that looney toon from Iran (can't spell his name off the top of my head) makes me sad.  Back in Swayze's day, you respected the office, even if you didn't respect the man sitting there. That was what made America great and powerful:

  • Fighting evil with good
  • Showing valor in the face of incredible odds
  • Defending those you love
  • Serving your country

  Nowadays I think people have to assume the lotus position and ask themselves, "what's my motivation?" before they decide whether to wipe their butts front-to-back or back-to-front.  They want to reap before they sow.  They have to like before they can love.  Does that make you a better person?  Does it make our country a better place?

   

  Barack Obama, I didn't vote for you, but I wish and hope the best for you. I hope that you have the strength and intelligence to make our country into a nation that is again feared and respected.  But if you are ever unsure of what to do, just ask yourself... What would Swayze do?

  

  Wolverines!!!!!  Patrick Swayze, you will be missed. 

  • 2:48 am
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