Another Run at John Wayne...Again?

I am a huge John Wayne fan, his rendition of the "Scout Law" I have posted Several times times on my blog.  John Wayne was a fervent supporter of the Boy Scouts of America.  John Wayne also played the all American hero, his attitudes and beliefs became the what the average American boy ascribed to when he became a man.  John Wayne Had several phrases that I have used, one was this one, I have it on my toolbox at  work home now and I ain't happy about that that is a rant for another story. Wait I have ranted about that on my blog. but I digress.

I also use this one when I am talking to a scout when I am talking about ethics and doing the right thing. I would say "Courage is being scared and doing the right thing anyway".  I also remembered when John Wayne passed on beyond the rim in 1979, a Japanese Newspaper had a quote "Mr. America passes on" and that was pretty much accurate, John Wayne embodied the traditional American values that used to be celebrated.

 I clipped the Following article off "American Spectator"

I feel sorry for the metrosexual Democrats pushing to rename John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California. They’ve probably never seen a John Wayne picture, or, if they have, they doubtless shriveled up before the ultimate icon of American manhood. That image is what they’re desperate to erase, so they’re now using some racially ignorant remarks the beloved star made in a Playboy interview half a century ago as an excuse to cancel him. But being utterly insignificant people, they have no idea who they’re dealing with, even 41 years after his death.

In Hondo, the Duke famously teaches a boy to swim by tossing him in a pond. It’s the kind of lesson that would benefit today’s progressive snowflakes. 

Before I clue them in, I’ll address Wayne’s catalytic statement without excusing it: “I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don’t believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people.” Wayne said these foolish words at age 64 in 1971, the year of the East L.A. riots and several others. Like many old white men of the time, he had a patronizing, though not hostile, view of black people. Blacks were always depicted with dignity and strength in his films, such as The Horse Soldiers (1959, Althea Gibson), The Alamo (1960, Jester Hairston, directed by Wayne), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962, Woody Strode), The Green Berets (1968, Raymond St. Jacques, directed by Wayne), The Cowboys (1972, Roscoe Lee Browne), and The Shootist (1977, Scatman Crothers). But his statement left a deep enough gash for the howling hyenas of the modern Left to attack him.
John Wayne was born in the heartland, Winterset, Iowa, in 1907, and nicknamed “Duke” after his dog. While attending USC on a football scholarship, he got a summer job as a silent movie prop man for cowboy star Tom Mix in Hollywood. There he met already esteemed director John Ford, who took a liking to Duke and put him in bit parts until 1939. Defying studio panic, Ford cast the unknown Wayne as the male lead, the Ringo Kid, in his revolutionary Western Stagecoach, giving him arguably the greatest film entrance of all time.
Thanks to Stagecoach, Wayne was a huge star when Pearl Harbor happened. He planned to enlist along with many of his peers (Gable, Fonda, Power, Stewart) but his minor studio, Republic, submitted a 2-A occupational deferment on him to keep their only A-lister working. Lack of service became a permanent topic of scorn for Wayne by liberals who wouldn’t fight if Chinese storm troopers goose-stepped up Rodeo Drive. Yet on film, Wayne boosted the nation’s morale and military recruitment far more than he ever could have as a soldier, winning World War II in Flying Tigers, The Fighting Seabees, Back to Bataan, and They Were Expendable.

Wayne’s postwar career might have dimmed except for another master director, Howard Hawks, thrusting him in his epic Western, Red River (1948). His performance as morally ambiguous rancher Tom Dunson — matching acclaimed thespian costar Montgomery Cliff — elevated Wayne. After watching a screening of Red River, John Ford said, “I’ll be damned. I didn’t know the sonuvabitch could act.”
In subsequent work, Wayne played nobler but still accessible all-American men whom boys could look up to and whom girls could admire, with one classic exception — The Searchers. Worldwide audiences were drawn to the Wayne persona that shone through such memorable films as Fort Apache (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), Flying Leathernecks (1951), The Quiet Man (1952), Island in the Sky (1953), Hondo (1953), Rio Bravo (1959), The Alamo (as Davy Crockett), and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. In Hondo, the Duke famously teaches a boy to swim by tossing him in a pond. It’s the kind of lesson that would benefit today’s progressive snowflakes.
I remember my girlfriend Cindy telling me about once watching The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance with an unsuccessful suitor, Warren. In the film, John Wayne’s character, Tom Doniphon, witnesses his longtime girlfriend Hallie (Vera Miles) cozying up to the protagonist played by James Stewart. Tom silently withdraws without the couple seeing him, gets drunk, rides out to the cabin he hand-built for himself and Hallie, and burns it to the ground. “God!” Warren exclaimed. “I wish I could be like that.” His was the kind of response to Wayne’s traditional masculinity that still spawns fear and loathing among feminists, especially the pitiable male of the species.
Wayne’s popularity thrived even in the turbulent late ’60s, when tough, confident men were challenged on screen by shaky, self-doubting protagonists like The Graduate (1967), Easy Rider (1969), and Midnight Cowboy (1969). He triggered Vietnam War opponents, many in Hollywood, by producing, directing, and starring in The Green Berets, and making it a hit.
The Duke had one of his most memorable roles in 1969, Rooster Cogburn, the hard-drinking, hyper-macho, one-eyed lawman of True Grit, which earned him the 1970 Academy Award for Best Actor. In one of those symbolic ironies, Wayne won over Dustin Hoffman for Midnight Cowboy and accepted the Oscar from Barbra Streisand.
Wayne continued to work into the ’70s, and famously turned down the role of Dirty Harry, much to fellow Republican Clint Eastwood’s luck. He made two superb Westerns during the decade, Big Jake (1971) and his moving swan song, The Shootist (1976). By that time, the cancer he beat in the early ’60s terminally resurfaced. He met it courageously, and helped found the invaluable John Wayne Cancer Institute.
This is the man progressives believe they can erase by renaming a little airport. But they’ll learn what the bad guys in Big Jake keep discovering about him. “I thought you were dead,” several say. “Not hardly,” he replies.


I have posted this in the past.but I thought it was worthy posting again..Our scoutmaster during our court of honor mentioned John Wayne's speech and he mentioned the scout Law and talked about it.


    

What the Scout Law Means to Me

John Wayne

    A great American, John Wayne, passed away many years ago. One of his last public appearances was at a dinner. He was riddled with cancer and knew he was close to death. The purpose of the dinner was to benefit a land purchase for a Scout Reservation called John Wayne Outpost Camp.

    At this dinner, Wayne recited the Scout Law. Then he did something unusual. He said the twelve points of the Scout Law are "nice words". "Trouble is" he continued, "we learn them so young we sometimes don't get all the understanding that goes with them. I take care of that in my family. As each boy reaches Scout age, I make sure he learns the Scout Law. Then I break it down for him, with a few things I have picked up in more than half a century since I learned it."

    Then Wayne proceeded to explain the importance of the Scout Law, breaking it down for the guests at the dinner; much like he would have for his grandson.

TRUSTWORTHY
The badge of honesty. Having it lets you look at any man in the eye. Lacking it, he won't look back. Keep this one at the top of your list. LOYAL The very word is life itself; for without loyalty we have no love of person or country HELPFUL Part sharing, part caring. By helping each other, we help ourselves; not to mention mankind. Be always full of help -- the dying man's last words. FRIENDLY Brotherhood is part of that word. You can take it in a lot of directions - and do - but make sure and start with brotherhood. COURTEOUS Allow each person his human dignity; which means a lot more than saying, "Yes, ma'am" and "Thank you, sir." It reflects an attitude that later in life you wish you had honored more... earlier in life. Save yourself that problem. Do it now. KIND This one word would stop wars and erase hatreds. But it's like your bicycle, it's just no good unless you get out and use it. OBEDIENT Starts at home. Practice it in your family. Enlarge it in your friends. Share it with humanity. CHEERFUL Anyone can put on a happy face when the going is good. The secret is to wear it as a mask for your problems. It might surprise you how many others do the same thing. THRIFTY Means a lot more than putting pennies away; and it is the opposite of cheap. Common sense covers it just about as well as anything. BRAVE You don't have to fight to be brave. Millions of good, fine, decent folks show more bravery than heavyweight champs just by getting out of bed every morning, going out to do a good day's work, and living the best life they know how against the law of odds. Keep the word handy every day of your life. CLEAN Soap and water helps a lot on the outside. But it is the inside that counts, and don't ever forget it. REVERENT Believe in anything that you want to believe in, but keep God at the top of it. With Him, life can be a beautiful experience. Without Him, you are just biding time.

John Wayne then thanked those at the dinner for putting his name on the outpost camp and said, "I would rather see it here than on all the theater marquees the world over."

About the John Wayne Outpost Camp. It is a part of:

Forest Lawn Scout Reservation, Lake Arrowhead, CA
Los Angeles Area Council
Boy Scouts of America
2333 Scout Way
P.O. Box 26910
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(213) 413-4400 Ext. 257 (Camping)

Forest Lawn Scout Reservation is located in the heart of the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains, 65 miles east from Los Angeles at an altitude of 5,300 feet.

The 2,000 acres of evergreen cedar and oak forest, quiet streams, developed camping areas, and rugged wilderness provide a perfect environment. There are several camps located on the reservation.

The John Wayne Outpost Camp was established in 1979. The outpost offers mountain man treks. Other camps on the reservation include: Camp Big Horn, opened in 1952, now known as the Circle X Ranch at Big Horn; Camp Cedar, later renamed Camp Pitchess, opened in 1953 (partially burned in a 2003 wildfire) is now Camp Pollock; The old Outpost Camp, converted to Northrop Camp in 1955 (now a staff housing area); and Camp Pepperdine, opened in 1960 will return to use as a Cub Resident Camp in 2007.

There are trails that go all over the reservation that allow many opportunities for hiking skills to be developed. Over the past 50 years most campers have enjoyed trips onto the San Bernardino National Forest land that borders the reservation for a visit to the beautiful area at Deep Creek.

The facilities at Forest Lawn Scout Reservation include: Firebird Lake with canoeing, kayaking, and row boats. Circle X Ranch has a pool with a waterslide. There is as an astronomy observatory, 40 ft. climbing wall, shooting sports (archery, rifle, shotgun, BB-gun for Cubs), and horseback riding. A Trail to First Class (Pathfinder) program is offered. NYLT - National Youth Leadership Training is offered the first week in August.

John Wayne Outpost is a Mountain Man Adventure featuring: backpacking, dutch oven cooking, night hiking, black powder rifle shooting, tomahawk throwing.

A C.O.P.E. course is offered (Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience) that consists of a low and high ropes course, the low course enhances groupskills and teamwork. The high course is by invitation only and develops individual skills through exciting events among the high trees.

Both John Wayne Outpost Mountain Man and C.O.P.E. are for Boy Scout Campers that are 13 or older.