I remember quite vividly my Saturday mornings in an East Coast city. The latest Western was being presented. The Indian hordes, the Cowboys, the Western Towns depicted. Dodge City, Carson City and even Geronimo, Laredo and many more. I even visited one of these Hollywood make-up Towns and rode the tram through them on a studio tour.

  It was all so exciting, That was what they were supposed to be doing. Shooting it out for the good of Mankind. What did we know of anything else.

  We saw heroic Cowboys standing up to these awful bad men who did such terrible things. We were thrilled at their courage and bravado. When they said ‘Draw’, our hearts tried to stop. We watched the crowds gather for the big Shootout the store fronts closing down, the people shuttering their wooden windows. And I mean what more could you ask for. This was now it was supposed to be. It was a matter of Honor to see it this way. I mean bad people were not supposed to stay around with the terrible things that they had done. It was a matter of Honor. Not to do so was uncivilized. They all seemed very respectful. ‘Ma’am’ was standard term for the Ladies in the big hoop-ed skirts. And Men would look each other straight in the eye. They didn’t look shyly down or away or anything like that. And young men were groomed to take up the role early in their lives. The solemn ceremony’s witnessed outside on a grassy knoll where a very reverent Minister gave the last lines to these Heroic souls were big deals too.

  After all, these supposed ‘bad guy’ Indians that attacked the White man, we were on their Land. How could that be, we were on the Land. And these bad guys did like the Indians did they wanted something from us that they weren’t supposed to have. Things that belonged to us. So what were we supposed to do except to ’shoot it out’ justice. That was the way it was and that is the way that we did things. Capping a term like ethics is very difficult for human kind in these circumstances and especially at the age that we were. It ‘ain’t’ right we still hear so often today. When things weren’t what they were supposed to be then you just would ’shoot em out1 like you were supposed to do. I mean it was that simple. These guys of today that come over today to claim their Land. Does anyone challenge them to a ’six-gun’ Shootout. Wei maybe we should and then they would know not to come over here to seek a land that is not theirs nor could ever be theirs. The ethic that allows us to lay down and look the other way is not an Ethic. It is just bad dealings. So chimming to all Eternity from that grassy Knoll we are just saying to all and sundry that they couldn’t hold their Land so somebody else took it from them. Then bring on the Westerns. I am all for it.

  Are there any foot-notes to all of this. Well, let us see. We have Love, Romance and Adventure and more. And a lot of us settle on a night at home to watch the evening shows with the Family. And then there are the re-runs and that is where you find them. The ’shoot-em-up’ and knock ‘em’ down shows of long, long ago. Well, I am one that still spends the time to watch and be thrilled by this old style Justice. And so there you are. And Amen.