Last Ounce of Courage
Movie Review
The film Last Ounce of Courage opened nationwide last Friday. You may have seen it advertised on Fox News
or promoted by Chuck Norris.
The film begins with Thomas Revere
saying goodbye to his parents and pregnant wife as he is sent overseas for a
tour of duty. While there, Thomas is
killed in battle. Back home, his
grieving widow takes their infant son to Los Angeles to start over.
Fast forward fourteen years. Thomas’s widow Kari and teenage son Christian
return to their small town, Mt. Columbus, where his father Bob is now the
mayor. On his first day, Christian is
called into the principal’s office for bringing his Bible to school. Frustrated, he asks his grandfather what his
father died for, and why no one is fighting back as their freedoms are slowly
taken away.
Bob decides to do something about it,
and the first thing he does is bring Christmas back to Mt. Columbus. So angels, manger scenes and a giant Christmas
tree at City Hall are erected, drawing fire from an unnamed national civil
liberties organization.
The rest of the movie follows the
struggle between Bob and his family, who try to bring religious expression out
of the shadows in their small town, and the larger government entities intent
on enforcing a “separation of Church and state.”
The film can seem a bit over the top
at times. Then you remember that we live
in a time when the Ten Commandments have been pulled out of courthouses, there
are lawsuits over the display of a cross or statue of Jesus, and students
really are sometimes being told they can not display any religiosity in public schools.
It is true that the film can be a bit
cheesy and has a made-for-TV feel.
However, I don’t think the cinematography or even the script are really the
point; the point is the message.
We are seeing an erosion
of our religious freedoms that we would never have believed possible just four
years ago. The HHS mandate is an affront
to our basic liberties that has no place in a free society. And still, many people are not getting
involved in the many demonstrations and activities that are being
coordinated. Many Catholics will even,
unbelievably, vote for the President’s reelection. One can only guess what new “regulations” that
would bring.
Last
Ounce of Courage will not be a blockbuster or win any awards, but it is
worth a watch, if only as a reminder that if we do not stand up for our
religious freedoms now, there will soon be none left to defend.
One thing I particularly liked about
the film was the way it captured the pain and sacrifice of military families
who have lost a loved one. After the
credits, people are invited to check out the Web site www.standusa.com.
