High Noon

One man alone. He sought help to literally fight vengeful criminals. Noone helped. A town Marshall, he served and protected a town. Not a single townsperson raised a finger to fight. They all had guns. They all had families, businesses, each with a stake, a life. Yet they hoped Will Kane would just go away. Maybe the bad guys would leave them alone.

Will Kane fought alone. During the gunfight, his Quaker bride killed one of the scumbags in self defense. Kane got two. The remaining one, a man Kane had sent to prison to be executed (He was pardoned. Must have been the 19th century version of the 9th Circuit Court) took his wife hostage and demanded an exchange-her for Kane. Kane accepted. He walked into the street. His wife again showed her grit and scratched the face of the perp. This distracted him enough for Kane to nail him.

The last scene in the movie is the most telling. Townspeople gather as he rides out of town with his bride. Stopping, he gives them a withering look and throws his star into the dust, turns his back and rides away.

They wouldn't defend themselves. Neither would he defend them. He did what he did for his own defense and his bride. If they were not willing to defend themselves, so be it.

Nothing changes. We must see to our own defense. We must band together and fight for that common cause. Do NOT depend on me to save YOU. Yet I will stand with my allies and friends. I remember one of the Statehouse bureaucrats (A slick little toad who praised my stand for the 2nd Amendment, feigned sympathy then turned his back on me) saying how safe he felt with me being armed . Whoopie. Toadboy I'm not here to save your fat butt. Save your own or perish.

Nothing changes indeed.