MARVEL MAY: MEMORIAL DAY WITH CAPTAIN AMERICA
“Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
~ Jesus Christ
“A symbol to the nation. A hero to the world. The story of Captain America is one of honor, bravery, and sacrifice.” So speaks the narrator of a Smithsonian exhibit in the Marvel Studios movie Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
The words fit Steve Rogers well.
I remember so clearly watching the first Captain America movie in theaters: Captain America: The First Avenger. It was 2011, a Friday matinee on a hot day in July. My brother and I decided to go after reading a review online praising the movie’s heroic, patriotic themes. Since patriotism isn’t something one runs into a lot on the modern big screen, we decided to brave the few content issues (some profanity, drinking, etc.) and see what a superhero wearing red, white, and blue would look like.
Neither of us were prepared for how profoundly this character would touch our lives.
I’m really not a “superhero” fan. I honestly hate a huge chunk of the philosophy and worldly junk you run into in both the movies and the comic books. And, truthfully, most of the movies Captain America finds himself in are no exception to that chaos and confusion (definitely do not attempt to wade into the MCU—Marvel Comic Universe—without a strong worldview already intact and a content filter installed on your viewing service). Yet, the character of Steve Rogers himself (aka, Captain America) is one I have been profoundly…profoundly…grateful for over the past few years.
And today, of all days, I am reminded of why.
Though the official date is May 30, people all across the nation are celebrating Memorial Day today—a day set aside to remember and honor the sacrifice of all those who have laid down their lives in defense of liberty. As an American, this holiday moves me deeply. One of my grandfathers served in the fight against the Nazis in the blistering North African deserts during WWII; his son, my father, has fought for decades down to this very day to get the truth out about our Christian heritage in America and help people live free from the dangerous philosophies so rampant in our culture working to enslave them—both spiritually and governmentally; my other grandfather, during the rebellious days of the 60’s and 70’s when they were burning flags in protest, had a custom license plate designed for his car that said, “America: love it or leave it!” To say patriotism runs deep in my bones is an understatement.
I am a patriot, through and through.
I love my Country. I love my Flag. I love everything they represent and everything God inspired our Founding Fathers to make them stand for. And I love that, in the midst of a world and culture screaming there are no such thing as absolutes, no such thing as “good guys”, and no such thing as someone wanting to do the right thing simply because it is the right thing to do…I love that there has been a Captain America. Is he perfect? No. Does he behave the way a Christian hero should behave at all times? Not 100% (due mostly to the fact he wasn’t designed or portrayed by Christian people). But is he one of the best, noblest, most courageous, selfless, and worthy fictional heroes to have graced the silver screen since, well, John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart passed away?
I think I’ll let you decide. 😊
What follows is a collection of some of my very favorite Captain America quotes and scenes from the last (almost) decade. I hope they inspire you as much as they do me…
(When he’s still 90 pounds and Dr. Erskine, the Nazi defector helping the U.S. Military’s secret science division, is interviewing him)
Dr. Erskine – “Do you want to kill Nazis?”
Steve – “I don’t want to kill anyone. I don’t like bullies. I don’t care where they’re from.”
(When his best friend, Bucky Barnes, suggests he’s trying to join the army because he’s got “something to prove”)
“Bucky, c’mon! There are men laying down their lives: I got no right to do any less than them!”
(During the climactic battle of “The First Avenger” with the supervillain, Red Skull)
Red Skull – “You could have had the power of the gods! Yet you wear a flag on your chest and think you fight a battle of nations. I have seen the future, Captain: there are no flags!”
Steve – “Not in my future!”
(When he wakes up in the 21st Century after having been frozen in the ice for 70 years)
“When I went under, the world was at war. I wake up, they say we won. They didn’t say what we lost.”
(In “The Winter Soldier” when Nick Fury, one of the leaders of an international defense organization known as S.H.E.I.L.D., shows him top-secret weapons with the capacity to take out millions of people at a time)
Nick Fury – “The satellites can read a terrorist’s D.N.A. before he steps outside his spider hole. We’re gon’na neutralize a lot of threats before they even happen.”
Steve – “Thought the punishment usually came after the crime?”
Nick Fury – “We can’t afford to wait that long…for once we’re way ahead of the curve.”
Steve – “By holding a gun to everyone on earth and calling it protection…This isn’t freedom. This is fear.”
(In “Avengers: Age Of Ultron” when Avenger’s leader Tony Stark tried to invent am army of A.I. robots to protect the world with disastrous results)
“Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts innocent people die. Every time.”
(In “Captain America: Civil War” when the United Nations is pressuring the Avengers to sign a document called the Sokovia Accords, giving the U.N. control of Avengers’ operations. Some, like Tony Stark, think it might be a good idea)
Steve – “Tony, if someone dies on your watch, you don’t give up.”
Tony – “Who said we’re giving up?”
Steve – “We are if we’re not taking responsibilities for our actions. This document just shifts the blame.”
Colonel James Rhodes – “I’m sorry, Steve. That is, that is dangerously arrogant! This is the United Nations we’re talking about! It’s not the World Security Council, it’s not S.H.I.E.L.D., it’s not Hydra… ”
Steve – “No, but it’s run by people with agendas, and agendas change.”
Tony – “That’s good. That’s why I’m here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stopped manufacturing.”
Steve – “Tony, you chose to do that. If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose. What if this panel sends us somewhere we don’t think we should go? What if there is somewhere we need to go and they don’t let us? We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own.”
(In “Avengers: Endgame” when the Avengers are about to embark on the riskiest mission of their lives)
“This is the fight of our lives. And we’re gon’na win. Whatever it takes.”
And (what is arguably my favorite Captain America moment of all) in The Winter Soldier, when it becomes evident S.H.I.E.L.D. has been infiltrated by the evil (very communist-like) organization Hydra and Steve appeals to those in S.H.I.E.L.D. who are loyal to the side of liberty to take a stand, even at the loss of their own lives:
“I know I’m asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high. Always has been. And it’s a price I’m willing to pay. And if I’m the only one then so be it. But I’m willing to bet I’m not.”
Well said, Cap!
This Memorial Day and always, may we never forget:
Freedom is never free!
LIVE EPIC,
CHRISTIS JOY
