Reacher and the Ideal of the American West

I have watched both of Cruises “Reacher” films. I think I have even seen the first one twice. The problem is, I can’t remember what happened in them. Just days after watching them, I was asking myself what the story specifics were. They are that cliché. And the cliché is the idea of the “one good man” the “American West Cowboy.” The TV series that recently aired on Amazon, however, was both more memorable and more uncomfortable for me.

There is a huge appeal to the idea of Reacher. It is the idea of an individual, with very high ideals and ethics, standing against a corrupt and evil world. This is the white-hatted cowboy in a lawless land, defending the ideals and justice that laws should protect. Americans love this mythology. We aspire to be people who stand up for what we believe against a status quo that flaunts right.

The problem arises when we ask ourselves, “How do I know that I am right?” Most of the time, there might be wiggle room and it does not matter if we are wrong on some issues. But Reacher kills people as his own judge, jury, and executioner. What does a cowboy look like in a society that DOES have laws, that DOES have a system in place for those laws to be evaluated and changed, and DOES hold everyone accountable to those laws? Do Americans really like democracy and law and order? Or do we prefer a world where what we want is given to us, regardless of what the majority wants?

There was a day where people discussed their differences and compromised with an understanding that we all have blind spots and need to be checked, and the faith the right would eventually prevail through that dialogue. These days the US is increasingly a land where everyone wants to force their own views through force. The scary thing is that we have seen where that sort of mentality leads.

A lone individual using force and even violence to protect their ideals can look like a white-hatted cowboy hero, but they can also just as easily look like a goose-stepping brown-shirt. We would do well to calm down and talk to each other.