2:150, #454: Bull Run & Monkeys Revisited

OK, last year on this date, I posted some comments on both the Battle of Bull Run and the Scopes Monkey Trial on Post #196. This year I've got other thoughts on the same thing. Just about the time of the American Civil War Old Darwin came up with his hair-brained Theory...Origin of the Species was published in 1859 to be precise...so a scene in my favorite movie (34 watchings), "Gettysburg," will be this day's post.

Confederate General James Longstreet walks up on Generals Pickett, Kemper, Armistead, and Garnett discussing "the latest scientific theory" of Charles Darwin. General Armistead backs the theory, General Pickett objects. So, General Pickett decides he "will lay to rest" the fallacious nature of Darwin's Theory. Let me set this up as a script:

General Pickett: "There are some among you who think you are descended from a ape...or that even I am descended from a ape... but I challenge the man to step forward who believes General Lee is descended from a ape!!"

General Kemper: "Here, here!"

General Garnett: "Not likely."

General Armistead: "All science trembles before the searing logic of your fiery intellect."
Armstead and Longstreet leave the scene and Kemper is heard saying, "So, exactly how many of your relatives are there that are apes?!"

One interesting thing about this non-historical dialogue with no historical record to substantiate it as far as I know, is that Armistead the Christian supports Darwin while Pickett, who apparently never came to faith according to my research, puts forth argumentation similar to William Jennings Bryan's at the Scopes Trial that could readily be torn apart by his opposition with ridicule. By the way, Scopes was convicted in that trial and the ruling was later overturned on a technicality. Christianity, however, was given a major black eye and Darwinism is held to be Truth. I think if someone wants to believe in evolution, the jackass should be the model, not the monkey...similarities of behavior are much more similar.

General Lee poses an interesting soliloquy that ends up as the last lines of the movie and is a good commentary on war. In talking with General Longstreet after Pickett's Charge has been crushed, he says:

"If they fight, we must fight them....And does it matter, after all, who wins?
Was that ever really the question? Will Almighty Got ask that question in the end?"
Probably not...


Resources for dialogue besides my brain: [http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/g/gettysburg-script-transcript-civil-war.html]