LET’S see: Martin Scorsese’s new movie demeans Lincoln’s efforts to save the nation, mocks the Union Army, sneers at volunteer soldiers, derides native-born New Yorkers, pours scorn on firefighters and police officers and fails to find a single person of quality among all of New York City’s leaders, circa 1863.
So begins Fredric U. Dicker’s dissertation on the critically acclaimed movie “Gangs of New York”. It disintegrates from there:
Scorsese, of course, has inflicted his muddled, interminably long, $100 million ersatz historical spectacle-cum-deconstructive anti-American screed – a k a. “Gangs of New York” – on millions of people around the world during the past few weeks, including untold numbers of foreigners who will get yet another horrid impression of the United States from Hollywood.
Hogwash; and surprising too, since Mr. Dicker holds a Masters Degree in American History. This is pure Neo-Con rubbish and I will attempt to explain why.
Lincoln was our first real dictator. Let’s get that right out into the open. Scorsese, or to be more precise, the author of the original book, Herbert Ashbury, only “demeans” Lincoln by recounting the infamous draft riots of 1863. Although the Confederate States of America instituted the first draft in American history, Lincoln soon followed suit. Now, one can argue convincingly, and correctly in my opinion, that conscription, for any reason, equates to slavery. However, this particular draft was insanely unfair as anyone could buy themselves a replacement for 300 American Dollars. That’s great if you’re rich, but as the main character in the film states, and I’m paraphrasing; “No one had $300. To us, it might as well have been $3,000 or three million dollars”.
Now, let me have a crack at “demeaning” Lincoln. Besides instituting an immoral and unconstitutional draft, Lincoln is also the inventor of the now infamous Income Tax. He routinely and without shame had people imprisoned for dissent against the war. (A precedent that has been followed with elan during WWI, WWII, Vietnam and now the “War on Terror”) He arrested most of Maryland’s state legislative body on the suspicion that they might secede from the Union. Lincoln suspended the writ of habeus corpus, even though it clearly states in the Constitution that this was a matter only for the Congress. Lincoln did nothing to free the slaves, as his famous Emancipation Proclamation only addressed those held in bondage in those states that were in active rebellion. It did nothing to address the practice of slavery in some northern states.
I could go on, but certainly other people have expressed themselves better on the subject. Check out L. Neil Smith’s The American Lenin.
Now let’s get to the point of it. Mr. Dicker is upset because Mr. Scorsese dared speak out against a possible war in Iraq:
And now Scorsese wants us to believe he’s right when he said last week on BBC radio that President Bush is wrong to take on Iraq for “the oil” and that America allegedly refuses to “respect how other people live”?
Well, here’s a thought: maybe Mr. Scorsese has a point. Maybe the war is about “the oil.” I’m not entirely sure. Much in American history would point to less-than-noble intentions when we enter conflict. Take the Spanish-American War or (cough cough), the Civil War. Our court historians have written a vast library of hagiographies pertaining to American history. What they can’t sweeten up, they throw right down the old memory hole. Who today knows about the Spanish American War and the resulting massacres in the Philippines? Who amongst us remembers that we invaded Canada twice in our history? How about our thirst for Empire resulting in the Mexican-American War?
Am I anti-American for bringing these things up? I have a feeling Mr. Dicker might think so. I now realize we are at a point where not only is dissent considered un-American, but so is a true recounting of history. This is really what surprises me about Mr. Dicker. He himself is a historian. But, like too many before him, he has taken the road of hagiography. God help me if I ever do that.
