are a few things I remember: Crockett has a pre-Alamo romancernwith a Mexican woman, from whom he gallantly detachesrnhimself as the siege begins; after the first, repulsed Mexicanrncharge, one of Crockett’s men, Thimblerig, says of thernfallen Mexican soldiers something I remember as, “I was proudrnof “em. Even when I was killing ’em, I was proud of’em”; Mexicanrnwomen, after the first charge, are depicted tenderlyrnmourning the dead, caring for the wounded; as the survivorsrnleave the Alamo, Santa Anna, his troops drawn up in orderlyrnranks, sweeps off his hat.rnDon’t the guys analyzing old movies take the time actually tornsee the movies? Don’t they have at least a Blockbuster in theirrnneighborhoods?rnThroughout The Alamo, the Duke, who learned the filmrntrade from the great custodian of myth, John Ford, was respectfulrnof the combatants on both sides (as Ford was respectful of,rnand often enough affectionate toward, the Indians in his pictures).rnBut, you see, that ain’t precisely the point. The namernJohn Wayne is poison with cultural revisionists, connoting as itrndoes a culture of masculine violence. We are supposed to rejectrnsuch a culture and whatever pertains to it.rnThe “John Wayne version” of war came under fire in appraisalsrnof Saving Private Ryan, which supposedly showsrnus, for the first fime ever, war in all its insanib,- and horror. Irnhave not yet seen Ryan, and therefore do not wish to exposernmyself to the same censure I visit on certain critics of ThernAlamo. I merely remark an unfortimate tendency in our culturalrnwars to disrespect John Wayne-ism without trying to understandrnwhat Wayne-ism may not, as well as may, represent.rnThe resistance of many to the de la Pefia findings may orrnmay not be wise, historically speaking. There is this much tornbe said for it, perhaps: Resistance, reverse skepticism, affirmsrnthe transcendent value of myih. It salutes the power of legendrnto exalt those who affirm and live by the legend. Diary crificsrnmay fail to appropriate Col. de la Pefia as an ally. Study of therndiaries at UT may show this to be an error. On the other hand,rnmodern times make the wise very nervous when the odor of revisionismrnis in the air. The tendency of revisionists to toss outrnbabies along with bath water is famous.rnA post-Alamo John Wayne picture. The Man Who Shot LibertyrnValance, wrestles with the question of the invigoratingrnpower of myth and legend. The film, not surprisingly, was directedrnby John Ford. Many reading this disquisifion alreadyrnknow the stor}’, but I will summarize the argument anyway.rnWas it or was it not right for the editor of the Shinhone Starrnto print the newly acquired news about local hero James Stewart:rnto wit, that he had not, contrary to the common belief thatrnlaunched his successful polifical career, dispatched the outlawrnLiberty Valance? (The real killer? John Wayne. Of course.)rnThe editor, who clearly had never darkened the door of a modernrnjournalism school, listened to Stewart’s account of thitherto-rnunknown events.. . and crumpled his notes. Wasn’t he goingrnto print the story? No, he was not: “This is the West, sir.rnWhen the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”rnA good formula, this, for ending up in Shinbone as opposedrnto getting your own show on CNN. Does a modern man of integrityrnwant to commend such an outrageous viewpoint inrnfront of ever-questioning intellectvials?rnI think maybe what he wants to do is smile in a satisfied way,rnavoid direct commentary, and murmur to himself through thernmovie credits. ernJoin . . .rnThomas Fleming, Samuel Francis, D o u g Bandow, Bill Kauffman,rnRoger McGrath, James Jatras, Greg Kaza, and othersrnAlong with special guestrnRonald Maxwell, director of GettysburgrnatrnThe Tenth Annual Meeting ofrnTHE JOHN RANDOLPH CLUBrnto find outrn”Why Washington Doesn’t Matter”rn8 and 9 October 1999rnat the elegantrnLATHAM HOTEL m HISTORIC GEORGETOWNrnSpecial Saturday Night Debatern”Resolved: Conservatives in D.C. haven’trndone a damn thing!”rnJOHN RANDOLPH.rnt his buttl* sTstion in ConsressrnSurprisingly AffordablernCall Aaron Wolf at (815) 964-5811rn)UNE 1999/19rnrnrn