As a hippie child, who, at 66 is a purple haired, colorfully creative, tree (people and animal) hugging, outspoken peace activist, I loved the Billy Jack movies. Even though I am an ardent pacifist who eschews violence, I liked the idea that this character stood up for those who were persecuted. Tom Laughlin and his wife Delores Taylor played the main characters. Billy Jack was of mixed heritage Navaho and Anglo and had returned home from Vietnam as a Green Beret. He was also a martial arts master. Jean Roberts was the Director of the Freedom School that was populated by kids of various cultures. Together, they were forces to be reckoned with. The focus was a clear ‘good guys-bad guys’ dichotomy. The bad guys were racist, misogynistic, rapacious and violent and had the law on their side; heck some of them were the Law. The good guys were free spirited and protective, and reluctantly aggressive in response to assaults on rights and safety of their students. There is a scene in one of the films that mirrors the actual situations of Black patrons at lunch counters in the 60s in which Billy Jack gives the assailants a heads up that as much as he is advised by Jean and the students to embrace pacifism, there are moments when he ‘goes berserk.’ That he does as he applies his well trained moves to put the villains in their place, if only temporarily.
I don’t want to reveal too much if you have not seen the movies. Suffice it to say that the arc of the moral universe is long, but bends toward justice. At the end of the first one, Billy Jack is led away in hand cuffs in a police car between the students lined up in support and sadness. Together, they raise their fists to let him know that their hearts will remain with him in gratitude.
The song that completes the film, called One Tin Soldier has come to be a cult classic, written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter. It was first recorded by the Canadian group The Original Castle in 1969. It was recorded in 1971 by The American group Coven and it reached number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. History repeats itself as the message is as poignantly true now as it was then.
Listen, children, to a story
That was written long ago,
‘Bout a kingdom on a mountain
And the valley-folk below.
On the mountain was a treasure
Buried deep beneath the stone,
And the valley-people swore
They’d have it for their very own.
Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won’t be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after….
One tin soldier rides away.
So the people of the valley
Sent a message up the hill,
Asking for the buried treasure,
Tons of gold for which they’d kill.
Came an answer from the kingdom,
“With our brothers we will share
All the secrets of our mountain,
All the riches buried there.”
Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won’t be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after….
One tin soldier rides away.
Now the valley cried with anger,
“Mount your horses! Draw your sword!”
And they killed the mountain-people,
So they won their just reward.
Now they stood beside the treasure,
On the mountain, dark and red.
Turned the stone and looked beneath it…
“Peace on Earth” was all it said.
Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won’t be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after….
One tin soldier rides away.
Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won’t be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after….
One tin soldier rides away.
The similarities to our current state of affairs in this country are striking, with a group of people desiring power, money and control over the lives of others while claiming their right to do so and their adherents believing that the ends justify the means and the other having warned them of the likelihood of events as they are frighteningly playing out. Despite being in denial that it would impact them, those who voted for the current administration are discovering that the ramifications are severe. The psychological paradigm that allowed that to happen in the first place; “If it doesn’t effect me, then why should I care?”, has had a boomerang affect. When I vote, I think beyond my own four walls and consider how my decisions impact the world and the lives of future generations. That should not make me exceptional. That should be the norm.
The question is, who is the remaining tin soldier?
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This Post is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: iStock
