I just wanted to make a quick clarification about my post this morning because I don’t want people to be confused.

I didn’t mean to imply that Charlton Heston’s “…from my cold dead hands” speech occurred at any point near or around his appearance at the NRA rally held a few days after the Columbine massacre. I’m aware that those were two completely different events. I was just kind of lumping all of Heston’s involvement with the NRA into one paragraph.

I had a reader remind me of the scene in Bowling For Columbine where Michael Moore made it look like it was the same event and I just want to reiterate that I am aware that it wasn’t. I’m aware that the NRA rally was a previously planned event and a victim of circumstance as much as anyone. It probably would have been a logistical nightmare to cancel or reschedule and I appreciate the situation they were in at the time. All the same, it would have been nice for them to have displayed a little discretion and cancel the event anyway – but that’s just me. It’s in the past.

I actually wanted to talk about Bowling For Columbine a little bit, but couldn’t find a way to fit it in to my previous post.

I really think Moore gave Heston a raw deal in his interview and how he chose to portray him. When everyone else heard Moore’s name and ran the other direction, Heston accommodated him and invited him into his home. I like Michael Moore, but what he did to Heston I thought was insulting and it’s probably why Bowling For Columbine is my least favorite of his movies. I was agreeing with most of it up until the end with Heston and then I walked out of the theater with a bad taste in my mouth.

Ultimately, I just felt bad for Heston. Here’s a guy with certain convictions – maybe convictions you don’t agree with – but convictions none the less. Because of those convictions, he’s propped up by a powerful gun lobby to appeal to the macho segment of the population that identifies with his roles as a tough guy in movies like Ben Hur and The Omega Man. He’s a puppet for this organization. A friendly face to slap onto a complicated issue.

On the other hand, you have Moore, coming at Heston with his own agenda and using Heston’s own convictions against him to make him look like a doddering old fool.

Say what you will about the politics, but conviction and character are something to be admired, not to be used as weapons against those who possess them. For me, Moore’s treatment of Heston came down to a simple matter of respect. Or, more accurately, the lack of it.