The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Guy Walks Into a...

4.8.08 @ 12:01AM

(Page 3 of 6)

2008, with a pivotal Presidential election before us, is fast becoming a year conservatives will, no doubt, long remember, but not necessarily with fondness. The American revolution is on the brink. Those who understand why this matters, are few. Reagan left us not long ago. Buckley is gone. And now, Heston. But, while their passing is grievous, it is a ready source for the quickening and passion we need to flourish again, for they did not leave us in a vacuum. Respect for the timeless value of their labors can help sustain us as we regain our confidence.

As we struggle, amidst our lamentations, to stay the course, let me offer a few thoughts on how to reestablish ourselves. Our best posture now, will be found on our knees, in total humility and with thanksgiving, before a just and loving God, who even now, if we but ask Him with a pure heart and in the fidelity to His righteousness found through faithfulness, will restore within us the strength and courage we will need to face the certain maelstrom ahead. Freedom is not a heritage for the timid, but for those willing to fight for it, not only in their own hearts, but among the affairs of men.

We miss you Ronnie, Bill, and Chuck. If you get the chance, would you let the Lord know we could use a repeat performance from someone still among us down here working the circuit. Thanks.
-- Mike Showalter
Austin, Texas

ANOTHER ICON GONE
Re: Robert Stacy McCain's The Voice of God:

In January 1960 my father was in New York for a retailers' convention. As it was very, very cold and icy, he had some problems getting around on the sidewalks.

About noon he was down in Times Square and went to turn the corner when he crashed into another man coming the other way. Since my father was nearly 6'4" he was surprised and took a fall right onto his "third point of contact" as they say. The other man was very apologetic and reached down immediately to give him a hand up. As my father took the stranger's hand he looked over his shoulder and saw a gigantic poster of the same fellow whipping a chariot in a promo for "Ben Hur."

I guess one could say that Charlton Heston literally could be larger than life!
-- Cookie Sewell
Socialist Republic of Maryland

You were wrong in your last line. As long as we have films to watch, he will never be silent. Charlton Heston was the personification of "Citizen Statesman."
-- Michael Skaggs
NRA Life Member
Murray, Kentucky

Thank you Mr. McCain for remembering of the greats. What a gentlemen Mr. Heston was. He will be missed.
-- Jim Karr
Blue Springs, Missouri

God blessed us with Charlton Heston -- his heroic larger-than-life strength as well as his dignity, faith and morality. Of course, those attributes have led to his detractors in the MSM and blogosphere to weigh in about -- against -- him.

For example, at the blog The Daily Kos, one poster asked, "How many people in this country are dead because of the organization [the National Rifle Association] Mr. Heston championed all these years?"

Another wrote: "I lmao [laughed my a** off]'d when [Rev. Jerry] Falwell left us. The world was a better place. I'm not gonna pretend Heston was what I'd consider to be a net gain for humanity, just because he died."

I'd imagine that were he still alive, the ex-liberal and winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom would laugh and remind us all to dismiss these and similar ones.
So would Moses, I'd suppose.
-- C. Kenna Amos
Princeton, West Virginia

Charlton Heston's roles and his performance over his entire career were selected with care. It is difficult to recall a movie he starred in that you didn't come away saying he was perfect in the role. How could an actor be perfect in the role in so many varied roles? Because of his consummate skill in selecting his material. Whether he was Moses or Will Penny he was never Charlton Heston first.

Heston wrote at least two autobiographical books, so long ago they are probably not in print. In one, An Actor's Life he described in great detail the time he spent in reading scripts, start to finish, before he took a part - rejecting many as unsuitable. He gave a humorous account of his struggling college days, earning money posing for art students. He related how his wife fashioned a skimpy leather bikini for his otherwise nude body. This gentleman took his goal in life seriously and shared with us the monumental wealth of his talent.

Letter to the Editor

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