EDITOR'S FOREWORD
One of the ogres of my
youth was a local worthy known along the Moray Firth
sea-board as 'Caal Chiel', a soubriquet he had earned as a
young man because of his indifference to stormy weather.
In late middle age he would still be found standing at the
pier-head in the teeth of a gale, bare-headed and in his
shirtsleeves defying wind and rain to drive him into
shelter. 'Caal Cheil', however, had a hot temper which had
made his life troubled and tempestuous. His many
confrontations with the law and his fellow sea-farers had
condemned him to a solitary existence, for few were
prepared to share the company of such a violent and
unpredictable individual. We children were well warned to
give him a wide berth at all times. When seized by a
violent impulse, he would now seek sanctuary in a desolate
and lonely place, up on the lighthouse promontory, where
he could struggle in private with the demons that were
raging within him. I recall coming across him in his
cliff-top refuge at the close of a November day,
silhouetted against a bruised and bloodied sunset, staring
out to sea, his head thrust forward, his hands opening and
closing by his sides, as he fought alone and silent, to
master some great passion.
Chiel's apocalyptic
sanctuary is entirely different from the traditional view
of a place of safety and comfort, some pillared aisle,
perhaps, enriched by stained-glass and the shimmer of
candle-light, where the certainties of an age-old faith
will soothe the injured spirit; or some ancient shrine, a
gentle, green place, flecked with sunlight and patterned
by leaves, where the spirit finds refreshment under the
shade of solemn trees. Every church is a sanctuary of
course, and in traditional Christian Churches, the area of
the High Altar or Communion Table is often called the
Sanctuary, the place where in the Middle Ages, those
suspected of crime sought refuge. 'Chiel' realised,
however, that we may also seek out our own private
sanctuaries where we may try to calm our own fears,
disentangle our own confusions and find a clear pathway
ahead. He knew that the physical sanctuary is secondary to
the real shrine within us, where dwells a quiet conscience
and a mind at peace. This is the holy place, set around,
not by carved stonework and chiseled wood, but by the
values and principles by which we live. These create the
moral certainties, clear away the doubts and perplexities,
identify for us the half-truths, the deceptions -and
ambiguities with which contemporary culture and behaviour
constantly seduce us.
A distraught figure,
standing on a cliff-edge, wrestling with his conscience,
seeking personal harmony and peace, may be a fitting image
for a society, so confused and unsure of itself, that its
young people slay each other in the streets while the
adults impotently wring their hands in despair.
Wm S. Stephen
william134@btinternet.com
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SERVICE OF CONTEMPLATION
We start a new venture on
Friday 7th September, a Service of Contemplation, led by
our Minister, Revd. Cal Courtney. This will be a short act
of worship to calm the spirit after the work-a-day week,
think about the events of the week, the things we have
experienced, and how we have reacted to them and shift our
focus from the mundane and transient to the eternal.
We hope that this event
will be an additional opportunity for our members to meet
with our Minister and that the wider community will also
be encouraged to drop in and share our worship. Please
come along for this inaugural meeting and try to bring a
friend and encourage others to join us.
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A SERVICELESS SUNDAY
There will be no Morning
Service on Sunday 23rd September, the local holiday
weekend. Many of our Congregation, including all our usual
service leaders and our organist are joining a coach
tour to North Wales, under the direction of Margaret
Robinson, during this weekend and, therefore, it has been
decided not to open our church for worship on this
occasion.
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HARVEST CELEBRATION
Celebration, thanksgiving,
fellowship and sharing will be the principal themes of our
Autumn Festival on Sunday 30th September. Sharing in the
Harvest meal will feature as the centre-piece of this
event. We shall be a community, indeed a family, sitting down together at table, to enjoy
the fruits of the earth, relaxing in each other's company,
sharing our thoughts and experiences, reflecting upon the
events of our week. Before lunch there will be a programme
of words, songs and music to celebrate the fruitfulness of
the season and express our appreciation of its beauty and
gratitude for its abundance. Dr. John Robinson will
conduct the Service.
We hope to decorate our Church as
usual with flowers and foliage, and gifts of fruit,
vegetables, canned and dry-packed provisions, which we
shall donate to a local charity. Please bring your gifts
to Church on Saturday (29th September) morning, during the
Terrace Cafe, 10.00am - 12.00pm.
There is a list on the
Notice Board for members who wish to partake of our
Harvest Lunch.
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ANNIVERSARY SERVICE
Our Anniversary Service
will be conducted on Sunday by our Minister, Revd. Cal.
Courtney. This Service does more than commemorate a
historical event - the founding of our Congregation in
1833 - it is also an opportunity for us to revisit and
reaffirm our Unitarian ideals and dedicate ourselves to
ensuring our Church's future. Let us, therefore,
demonstrate our support for our future and our spiritual
leader, by making every effort to be present when Cal
leads
us in our Anniversary worship.
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SUMMERTIME CATERING PROJECTS
Our Summer catering
projects to welcome old friends and make new ones again
were very successful. The Women's League Lunch Club
meeting on Wednesday, attracted an average of 20 diners
and the Arts Group's Traditional Afternoon Teas, available
on Thursdays, attracted more than 40 patrons on average.
The innovative 'Fish and Chips and Fellowship' Service at
the end of July enjoyed the support of 30 members and
friends.
Fellowship may not sound religious, but bring
people together in pleasant, relaxed surroundings, where
they can feel part of a caring community and enjoy the
benefits of social interaction, across a table at
mealtime, has value for us all. To demonstrate the truth
of this proposition was the aim of our Summertime Catering
Projects.
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FAIR TRADE RECEPTION
Aberdeen Unitarian Church
was formally acknowledged as a 'Fair Trade' institution at
a civic reception on Tuesday 26th June, held in the
Aberdeen Foyer Centre. The event was organised by Sue Good
and was attended by the Lord Provost, Peter Stephen, his
Deputy, several City Councilors and local dignitaries. Our
Secretary, Bill Stephen, received our Fair Trade
Certificate from the Lord Provost. Our Congregation was
well represented at this occasion.
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ANDIE LOWE'S BIRTHDAY PARTY
Andie Lowe celebrated his
80th birthday in style inviting his family and friends to
a mammoth birthday bash at the Transport Club on 3rd
August The evening was a great success, the company
enjoying entertainment, dancing, games and a splendid
buffet. Instead of accepting gifts, Andie suggested that
his guests, if they wished, might consider donating to the
Cancer Research Fund. The result was a donation of 560
pounds.
Many congratulations Andie upon reaching your
eighth decade. You did it in style, and many people as
well as your guests benefitted from your birthday
benevolence.
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OCTOBER GUEST
PROFESSOR MARGARET GILL
Our Morning Service on 7th October will be conducted by Professor Margaret Gill,
formerly Director of the Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen, and
currently Chief Scientist of the Scottish Executive
Environmental and Rural Affairs Department. A
long-standing friend and colleague of our Vice-chairman,
Dr. John Robinson, Professor Gill has spent much of her
career providing aid for developing countries. She is
deeply concerned about the amount of arable land that is
now being devoted to growing crops to produce fuel oil
rather than food and the resulting increase in food
prices, particularly for the inhabitants of poorer
countries. For instance, the price of wheat has increased
considerably over the past few years, raising the cost of
bread world-wide, as most of us super-market shoppers have
noticed. We appreciate the opportunity to listen to Professor
Gill's message and hope that our members will
make a special effort to be present and to encourage
their friends to come along as well.
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VISIT OF G.A.PRESIDENT TO DUNDEE
REVD. CELlA MIDGLEY
The Revd. Celia Midgley will
spend the weekend, 6th/7th October, as guest of the Dundee
Congregation and the Scottish Unitarian Association. There
will be a meeting for all Scottish Unitarians on Saturday
6th October, in the Dundee Church, 11.00am for 1l.30am.
The President will address the meeting and after lunch
will conduct a Service of Worship. Those who wish to
attend should take a packed lunch. Tea/coffee will be
provided by the Dundee Congregation. This is the
President's only scheduled visit to Scotland and our only
opportunity to meet with her on our own 'home ground'. All
our members are very welcome to attend.
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ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND
We celebrate our 174th
birthday this year on the weekend 13th/14th October with
two major events, the Anniversary Fair on Saturday and the
Anniversary Service on Sunday.
The FAIR takes place
between 10.00am - 12.00pm. A full range of stalls is
envisaged, including Cake, Candy & Home Baking, Pretty
Things, Books, Bottle Stall, Raffle, Wheel of Fortune,
Nearly New, our famous Terrace Cafe catering and any
innovations that may occur to us. We need goods to sell
for all our stalls, people to sell them and of course
hundreds of customers to buy them. Anita Stephen is
organising this event and will be delighted to receive
offers of help and material at any time, the sooner the
better. 20p. tokens exchangeable at the Fair are on sale
now from Anita. Entrance fee (induding refreshment) £1.50
pound. £1.00 children, payable at the door. In spite of our
best efforts to economise, we are running a deficit on our
month-to-month account and, therefore, we must raise
funds to keep us in business, We should all try our
hardest to support the Fair in whatever way we can.
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GLADYS BEGG
1916-2007
We regret to record the
passing of Gladys Begg who died on Wednesday 26th June
2007. Her Funeral Service was conducted by Revd. Cal
Courtney at Aberdeen
Crematorium on
Tuesday 3rd July.
Gladys,
along with her late husband, Jimmy, attended our Church
regularly and took a keen
interest in Congregational activities which they loyally supported. Gladys
was of a serious frame of mind, enjoyed discussing current
events after Sunday Service, and like
her husband, was deeply concerned about
the moral decline that seemed
to be overtaking our nation.
She
was deeply attached to Jimmy who did everything for her
and generally protected her from the rougher, more
demanding and confusing aspects of modern
life. His sudden and unexpected death a few years ago destroyed her
emotionally and spiritually; she lost her self confidence, became
disillusioned with everything and turned against her friends who tried hard to
comfort her and care for her. In the last
two years of her life, spent in
a Nursing Home she became
increasingly detached from the world as
senility darkened her mind.
In his funeral address,
however, Cal reminded us that she had shared a long and loving marriage
with her adored husband and that in spite of those last few years, her
life had been happy, meaningful and fulfilled.
We send our condolences to her
Nephew and Niece and to her Grand Nephews and
Nieces.
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JOEY WELLS
With sadness we report the
death of Mrs Wells of Ellon who died suddenly and
unexpectedly on Thursday 9th August. Her Funeral was
conducted on 14th August at Aberdeen Crematorium
by the Revd.
Stranraer-Mull, the
Minister of the Scottish Episcopal Church in Ellon. (The
Revd. Cal Courtney was abroad on pilgrimage.) We express
our deepest sympathy toher husband Wheatley, to
Mrs Wisely and the members of their family.
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REVD DR. COLIN WICKER JP
1934 - 2007.
We deeply regret having to
record the death of Rev. Dr. Colin Wicker JP who died at
Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, while recovering
from surgery on 15th. August 2007. His Funeral Service was
conducted on Tuesday 21st. August, at
Dundee Crematorium by the Revd. Patricia Shaw of Manchester.
For more than 30 years
Colin was a vital and energising presence in Scottish
Unitarianism, first in
Orkney where he started a Fellowship, then in Dundee as
lay-leader 1976 - 19 83 and
as Minister, from 1983 to his retirement in 1994.
A man of enormous energy,
Colin who had served
the Scottish Unitarian Association in several
Executive posts, including Secretary, Treasurer and Vice-Chairman, on his retirement
founded the Scottish Unitarian Fellowship, to
cater for people who wished to be
associated with Scottish Unitarianism
but who were unable to join a Congregation. For the
next ten years or so he
travelled widely throughout Scotland
administering to his scattered flock,
conducting services, counselling, offering advice and
comfort, and generally keeping in
touch. The S.U.F. flourished and Colin started 'The Link'
magazine to keep all the members informed of Fellowship
events. He was a frequent visitor to
Aberdeen, leading our worship and conducting rites of
passage services, during our various
vacancies.
Colin's was a
powerful personality,
confident, assured, innovative,
determined and occasionally
impulsive: when he thought something ought to be done, he did it, there and
then. He was also a generous and helpful
friend, a lavish host, a boon
companion and raconteur, with a fund of
entertaining stories, dramatically narrated.
His untimely passing has
saddened a great many people, not only his family members and close
associates, but the members
of the Scottish
Unitarian Community at large, and
particularly the members of his S.U.F. who valued his
help, and appreciated his concern for
their well-being and his
interest in their lives. They have lost a true friend.
In his heyday, Colin was
like a force of Nature on
the Scottish scene,
and although increasing
infirmity had robbed him of that energy and drive and
restricted his activities,
such was his foresight that he will
posthumously continue to
influence Scottish
Unitarianism form any years
to come.
We express our deepest sympathy to his
wife Sheila, his daughter,
Anne, our former Minister, and to his sons Paul and
TIimothy and their families.
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"TOWARDS BELOVED COMMUNITY"
By Revd. Cathal Courtney
reviewed by Bill Stephen
After the recent spate of books eagerly anticipating the
demise of religion – particularly Christianity – in the Western
democracies, it is refreshing to encounter a work which not only envisages
a positive future for liberal religion in the 21st century but
also suggests an agenda to accomplish it. In this original and
unconventional approach to religious discussion, Cal Courtney identifies
the nature and source of our current spiritual malaise, accounts for the
failure of religious institutions to deal satisfactorily with it and
demonstrates how it may be cured by the creation of ‘The Beloved
Community’.
Secularism, individualism and materialism dominate our
culture, not only stifling our spirituality but also distorting our
humanity. Cal Courtney identifies the irresistible rise of rationalism in
the 18th. century and the rapid expansion of technology,
industrialisation and commercialism in the 19th and 20th
century (the ‘Modern Age’) as the principal causes of the unhappiness,
confusion about personal identity, self-doubt and the anxiety that follows
uncertainty suffered by so many of us in the 21st century (the
‘Post-modern’ Age). While acknowledging fully the incalculable
benefits bestowed upon us by reason and science, he argues that their
success has encouraged us to overlook other sources of truth such as
religious, mythic, intuitive, emotional and artistic which are not
susceptible to the application of logic but which
have their own validity and a role to play in our perception of our world.
An essential feature of Cal Courtney’s religious
landscape is ‘mystery’, this inexplicable awareness of being in touch
with the one-ness of all things, the intuition that there exists a
profound connectedness shared by the whole of creation, linking human
beings one to another, but also to everything else in the universe.
Existence, in all its multifarious manifestations and our human experience
of it, is an extraordinary complex process, much of it beyond our
understanding, and dogmatic religions’ attempts to explain it in terms
of doctrinal belief systems, simplify it by ignoring whole swathes of
human experience. So much of human life is left outside these systems that
religion loses its credibility and falls into disrepute. Acknowledging the
importance of mystery and understanding how it may influence human
relationships, therefore, is the principal aim of ‘The Beloved Community’.
Revelation of the divine is the essential source of
religion, and in the case of Christianity is provided by the Old and New
Testaments. However, Cal Courtney argues that our most immediate source of
divine revelation is the experience of human beings. Our awareness of our
own reaction to our day-to-day living, that of other people and of the
on-going life of the planet all reveal to us aspects of that divine
mystery that provides us with the content of our spiritual experience.
The major ethical problem of our age is how to reconcile
universal truths with individualism, The Enlightenment rationalists, in
wresting moral authority from the hands of the godhead and depositing it
categorically on the shoulders of humanity, seemed to suggest that
universal ethical truths were a thing of the past and that each individual
now had the responsibility of setting his/her own standards with little
reference to other people. This has led to a degree of moral confusion
welcomed by some but deplored by many as an additional personal anxiety
and an abuse of community cohesion. ‘The Beloved Community’, however,
may be able to achieve a reconciliation between these opposing positions.
In acknowledging that we share a common destiny which is ultimately beyond
our comprehension – the mystery – we have the opportunity to live our
lives accordingly. This implies that we recognise that none of us is
perfect and that we are all trying to cope with life as best we can. Our
many imperfections are seen not as aberrations from the normal but as a
feature of normal life. Sharing, thus, a mutual understanding and
sympathy, and motivated by a desire to agree, we may embark upon the
difficult project of establishing universal ethical truths. Mutual
sympathy and understanding, we may also define as love, the overarching
principle and motivating force of ‘The Beloved
Community’.
Although "Towards the Beloved Community" is
well informed and well argued, it reads as prophecy rather than dialectic,
since its core material emerges largely from the author’s personal
experience of living in the ‘post-modern’ age. Cal Courtney is a
visionary who has a firm grasp of the complexities and perversities of
human nature, but who by accepting and loving people as they are, and
offering them trust and reassurance, envisages an environment where they
may meet, talk and act in a spirit of mutual cooperation and respect.
Given the ego-centric behaviour of most of us, this may seem an idealistic
objective, an aspiration rather than a practical possibility. However,
visions capable of transforming society for the better are worthy of
effort and commitment, and Cal Courtney offers his vision of the ‘Beloved
Community’ as the inspiration for a reinvigorated liberal religion. By
working towards the ‘Beloved Community’ liberal religion gives
itself a clearly defined role which is not only distinct from
traditionalist attitudes but also distances itself from the individualism
of ‘New Age’ spirituality.
The personality that emerges from this book is engaging,
optimistic and warm-hearted. There is a disarming open-ness of approach
that is refreshing in theological discussion. The style is lively, brisk
and enthusiastic, sweeping us unresistingly towards the gates of the ‘Beloved
Community’.
(‘Towards the Beloved Community’ is published by
Exposure Publishing and is available from Amazon at 9.49 GBP.
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THE MYTH OF THE WILD FRONTIER
We shall begin with a few endings; bitter
endings; satirical endings; ironic endings. In John Ford's 1939 classic
western, 'Stagecoach' the hero, the Ringo Kid and the heroine, Dallas, are
despised by the respectable passengers on board the coach, in spite of
Ringo's having saved them from a band of marauding Apaches and Dallas
having nursed the Major's Lady, through child-birth during a rough and
hazardous journey. Ringo, involved in a vendetta, and a fugitive from the
penitentiary and Dallas a young woman of easy virtue are clearly unfit for
decent society. The Sheriff contrives their getaway so that they may, as
he says, 'escape the blessings of civilisation'.
In George Stevens 1953 adaptation of Jack
Shaffer's novel, 'Shane', the hero, a world-weary gunfighter who has
foresworn the gun, inadvertently saves a township of terrified settlers
from a bullying rancher and his hired assassin. Wounded and deeply
distressed that he had to resort to killing again, he quickly leaves the
settlement and loses himself in the vast western desert, beyond the
frontier.
Finally, in 'High Noon' Sheriff, Will Kane,
having single- handedly killed the members of the Miller Gang while the
citizens of Hadleyville cower behind locked doors, plucks the badge from
his shirt, throws it contemptuously into the dust and gallops out of the
town for ever, heading for the wilderness.
In these concluding scenes, we begin to
understand the nature of the Wild West Myth in which Americans have invested
so much imaginative effort during the 20th century and which has been
transmitted to the rest of the world by means of print, the radio, the
cinema and television. The Western Frontier as depicted in scores of films
is the dividing line between civilisation
and the wilderness, between authority and total freedom,
between law and anarchy, between pacifism and violence,
between religion and atheism, between the
homesteaders
and the westerners; between the respectable and the disreputable. At a
deeper level, the frontier myth is about erecting, maintaining and extending
borders, all kinds of borders, between races, between social and economic
groups, between customs, cultures, traditions and religions. At the centre
of the myth there are several ironies and contradictions created by human
attempts to solve the moral and spiritual dilemmas that human nature and fate
produce in every generation and in every clime.
The mythical hero is always a
westerner, a man of the wilderness, who saves civilisation not as a
deliberate act, but as 1 unintended consequence of some private, moral
imperative he is obliged to address. The westerner despises civilisation and
is contemptuous of the settlers who try to tame the wilderness. The
homesteaders are suspicious of and highly defensive towards the westerner,
whom they consider to be wild, uncouth, antisocial, unpredictable and
dangerous. Their values, their life-style, their ambitions, their concept of
their role in the world are all totally different. They do not understand
each other; they have nothing in common; they live in parallel universes
and their only relationship is generated by the violence occasioned by
their
clash of cultures.
The westerner lives according to a set of early defined
principles. Above all he values his total independence, his total freedom
and his honour and dignity as a human being, values which he respects in other people. As J. B. Books (John
Wayne) says in 'The Shootist':' I won't
be wronged. I won't be insulted and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do
these things to other people and I require the same
from them.' This
attitude inevitably leads to conflict as every westerner is obliged to
respond to a challenge or any kind of attack. The men of the frontier
value courage, self-reliance, loyalty, friendship, steadfastness above
all. They detest treachery in any form, surrender or flight, lying,
cheating, bullying, and hypocrisy. They totally reject civilisation and
Christianity which they see as an unprovoked assault upon their
traditional way of life. Civilisation destroys their wilderness and their
freedom; Christianity is too narrow and restrictive for survival on the
frontier.
In 'The Plainsman', Wild Bill Hickock says, 'There ain't no
Sundays west of Kansas City, no law west of Hays city, and no God West of
Carson City.'
Ben Rumson sums up the westerner's attitude
to civilisation and Christianity in 'Paint your Wagon'. He says, 'The West
is where people can look civilisation straight in the eye and spit. And you
don't have to please anybody. And you don't have to love thy neighbour.
It's wild, human and free. And all over this nation, they preach against
it every Sunday.'
Having rejected Christianity, they reject forgiveness,
turning the other cheek, the Day of Judgement, Heaven and Hell and a life
hereafter. All scores, therefore, have to be settled on earth. Death is
simply the consequence of being born. As they said of an accident 'Victim
in 'Hondo', 'Everyone gets dead. it was his turn.'
All this contradicts
the values of the settler. They wish to erect fences, establish property
rights, create communities, build towns with streets, churches, schools,
gaols, railroads, shops and factories, impose law and order, set moral
standards, recognise economic and social class differences, while doing
their utmost to discourage saloons, music-halls, gambling joints and houses
of ill-repute. The women have a tendency towards militant Puritanism in
their religious observance whereas the men are more liberal, regarding
church-going as a social obligation and a proof of honesty and
respectability.
When our own borders are transgressed and
our personal space is invaded our susceptibilities become inflamed. In the
myth of the wild west frontier, where civilisation encounters the
wilderness, hostility usually erupts, and here gunfighters find ready
employment. Shane, the gun-fighter, (played by Alan Ladd) anxious to
escape his past, is riding west into the wilderness, away from the
frontier, when fate leads him into the sort of trap he is trying to avoid,
a turf war between a rancher and a group of settlers. Shane is a
westerner, bound by the westerner's code, as indeed is Ryker the rancher,
but economic necessity, frustration and impatience have forced him to
bully and threaten the homesteaders to surrender their land to him, thus
violating the code of the wilderness. In addition, his men, stupidly and
gratuitously insult Shane, a challenge which he cannot ignore, and so an
ironic fate and the code of the west align hint with Joe Starrett, the
leader of the settlers, whose world, as Shane knows full wll, is fair set
to destroy his wilderness. Circumstances thus prevent his continuing his
journey westward until he has visited his vengeance upon the cowboys who
invaded his personal space. Ryker has also engaged a notorious gunfighter,
Jack Wilson, to intimidate the settlers who, being farmers and men of
peace, have no answer to this menace and must, therefore, abandon their
homes and livelihood.
The myth reveals to us the irony of this
situation. Civilisation abhors violence, but in order to survive, must
employ violence: make war to preserve peace!
In 'High Noon' the Sheriff, Will Kane
(played by Gary Cooper) is about to step down. Like Shane he is a
westerner, weary of violence and conflict, about to travel westward into
the wilderness with his new wife, a Quaker (played by Grace Kelly).
However, fate and the code of the west prevent it. The leader of the
Miller Gang has been prematurely released from a prison in the east and he
is returning to Hadleyville, the scene of his many murders,
so that he and his gang may settle scores with the Sheriff who arrested
him, in fulfilling his duty to maintain law and order in the town. The
townsfolk try to persuade Will Kane to flee the town, arguing that if he
is absent, the Miller gang will simply depart without creating any damage.
However, flight is not an option for the Sheriff, bound as he is by the
code to face his challengers. His wife, a pacifist, refuses to support him
in confronting the Millers as do the people of Hadleyville. One group, the
rougher element who frequent the saloon and suffer the censure' of the
respectable people, are in favour of the Millers, anticipating they will
reinstate a period of lawlessness in the town; the other, the
church-goers, the businessmen and the property-owners, argue that it is
the Sheriff's duty to protect the town since he is paid to do so. The
Minister, a pacifist, reflects the Church's quandary; he cannot advise his
parishioners to kill, but on the other hand he is unable to protect them
against the killers. He says the Church has nothing to advise in such a
situation. Rejecting violent action on their own part and recognising
their vulnerability, the townsfolk take refuge behind locked doors. The
Sheriff is obliged, therefore, to face the four outlaws on his own.
The
great western heroes are all tragic figures, because fate decrees that
their dreams cannot be fulfilled and that in saving the innocent they must
violate their own code. The myth implies that doing good always requires
sacrifice and. . also, that in doing good, it is difficult to avoid doing
harm. Shane realises that his violent past-life prohibits any hope of
reconciliation with civilisation; and to add to his distress, in order to
save Joe Starrett's life he has to stun him with his gun, a deed that is
anathema to the western code, and one for which he can never forgive
himself. Will Kane tries hard to foreswear violence but fate acts against
him and his wife, who, impulsively betraying her pacifist beliefs, to save
his life, shoots one of the gangsters in the back, a crime which will
haunt them both for as long as they live.
The twentieth century myth of
the wild west demonstrates the fact that myths are still germinating and
flourishing in our scientific age, because they expose an aspect of human
experience with which we struggle and for which we can find no resolution.
A myth is not a description of a one-off event but an account of an
ongoing situation. The wild west myth is a particularly bleak one dwelling
as it does upon our inability to reconcile our aspiration to foster
enlightened and civilised values with our need to protect what we regard
as our own frontiers, personal and communal, against the incursions of
malign forces. How many barriers we erect to quieten so many fears! How
many conflicts we engage in as a result! The myth reflects our concerns
that civilised behaviour and violence are not compatible, but also our
doubts that pacifism is a luxury a free state cannot afford.
However, this
myth possesses an oracular quality that leaves room for hope. Although the
hero's departure is overshadowed by bitterness and disillusionment, he is
headed westward beyond the frontier where the wilderness stretches into
the unknown. Here, he may find at last the contentment and salvation he
seeks. This unknown territory without borders and dimensions, is the
future,. the realm of infinite possibilities, of second chances, the
Golden City, the New Jerusalem of which the hymn writers sing, where all
aspirations are fulfilled, guilt is shed and hope, blessed, sustaining
hope, dwells for ever. Let us keep singing the hymn by all means but let
us also pay heed to the message of the Myth.
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