With Guns in Hand

Nobody’s Opinion: Due to the fact that Charles Heston has passed away, my usual Monday rant will take a break for these few word.

An American Moses—Charles Heston

Sometime in the last reign of Bill Clinton’s Presidency, I remember feeling particularly frustrated at life. My son had just showed up first day of his senior year all excited, then…beyond all belief, he was told he could not come in.

Go home, they said. He could not attend at all without a doctor’s permission.

There was no trial. He did nothing wrong. His only crime was that he had been sick, and a plethora of doctors could not figure out what was wrong. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that a school could just “not allow” a student to come into its halls, especially when he had committed no crime.

I felt like I was in a Kafka novel. Yes, my son was kicked out of high school for the crime of being sick and not knowing what he had--- literally.

At the same time, over twelve hundred African-American students who did not even live in our school district were allowed to attend---illegally may I add.

The school had ruined my son’s future, and could have cared less.

Let me note here that we found out later my son had a rare sleeping disorder...but because so many of the kids were on drugs, I suppose they just thought he was a drug addict, even though he was tested and found completely clean.

This was my first big wake up call to our horrible school system, and the many fascist administrative bureaucrats who work in them. I went through hell trying to protest this unfair decision.

If I went to the media I was told, my son would suffer. From what I said? He had never been in trouble at school for anything. He had no police record. What could they possibly say? To me the world had turned upside down. What had happened? When did America become Russia?

Then one afternoon during this troubling time, while in my car, I heard a recording of Charles Heston on Rush Limbaugh’s afternoon radio program. He was speaking from something he had written. He was talking to all Americans, and he spoke from his big loving heart, which was clearly, like mine---breaking.

He spoke what all true Americans were thinking. Mostly it was about political correctness and how he felt that he couldn’t even speak the truth anymore, even to his friends. What had happened to his country?

No one up to that point had said it so succinctly.

Like most Americans, I had grown up watching all of his great acting roles, and it was no doubt that in that department; Charles Heston is and will remain, a legend for all time.

But it wasn’t that great voice that moved me so that afternoon…no, it was his words that moved me to tears. To hear a man speak with such outstanding courage was almost alien. An American Moses was facing the great storm from the mountaintop.

Why weren’t all our men speaking out like this, I thought? My God--- finally: a lone brave voice speaking out against this liberal takeover of America.

And go figure, it was a Hollywood star.

I was so completely overtaken with emotion…I had to pull off the road.

Not much later, I was watching with my dear mother that famous moment on TV, when Mr. Heston lifted up his gun and said, “Out of my cold dead hands!”

My mother and I were both crying for sheer joy, because we had seen such changes to our dear beloved country with the Clintons, who were, as far as we were concerned, just about the evilest couple since Bonnie and Claude.

That opinion has not changed.

I was so moved by that speech, I wrote Mr. Heston a letter.

A few months later I received his answer retyped below;

Dear Madame,

I must apologize for this tardy response to your December letter; please forgive me. My correspondence simply gets away from me time to time.
I deeply appreciate hearing from someone who loves this country, our liberty, our forefathers and our freedom the way I do. If I’ve said even a one word that has meant something to you, I’m humbled and touched. Thanks for writing me so generously and for sharing your story with me.
I promise I’ll never give up on this country and trust you won’t either. May God Bless America and all of us, too.

Cordially,
Charles Heston.

Well, my family told me it was a form letter, but I didn’t care because his words matched what I heard that day. This beloved letter hangs on my wall in my office…a reminder that sometimes all it takes is one brave soul to shout the truth, to lead the way for the rest of us.

Charles Heston was a great American Moses in real life. We were all lucky that God blessed us with his grace, presence, tremendous talent, and American inspiration.

Mr. Heston, we salute you forever, with American guns in hand.

May we all be worthy.