I find something quintessentially “American” in the Western genre. Honor, courage, loyalty, respect, good vs. evil. Americans, at least in the past, placed great value on independence, self-reliance, loyalty, honor and the strength of their word. I grew up with Westerns…on television, in movies and in books. They formed my sense of what a man should be. There is a timeless quality to those concepts that I think should be remembered and valued…perhaps even renewed today.
As the son of a Dutch father from Michigan and a Scotch-Irish mother from South Carolina and Tennessee with ancestors who fought on both sides in the Civil War, I always felt a sympathy for the “Lost Cause,” maybe due to my predilection to sympathize with “underdogs.” None of my Southern ancestors fought for slavery. They fought for States’ Rights. Now, I know that is a historical theory that has fallen out of favor today, but what is most important to me is the history of my family. They were courageous men who fought for principle and fought steadfastly against all odds. In that regard, they were like the Scots and Irish before them. They all lost, suffered and some found a way to survive. Loss and redemption seem like strong themes derived from their experiences.
I think loss and failure are not things men are taught to deal with…at least not men of my age. For Confederate soldiers who lost the war, came home to the destruction of their homes or lost them for back taxes, those were the realities they were forced to face. Many looked to the West and the frontier and some managed to build new lives. Others failed and became outlaws and renegades. I think, today, men even younger than me still try to cope with that same sense of loss and failure. Whether it’s the loss of a marriage or a relationship. Or the failure of a business. Or the loss of their job and the ability to care for their family. Or just the loss of purpose and hope. I thought that was a theme that deserved examination and I thought a post-Civil War setting could help illuminate it.
