Long Live the West

First of all, I'd like to encourage everyone to go see Frank Miller's "300." A bit slow in parts, but overall an excellent film. I don't need to go into the details of the movie, for many, many reasons, chief being some of the people who read this blog have yet to see the movie, and I'm not one to ruin it. What I would like to talk about is the underlying story that exists, not only in this movie, but in the real story of Sparta and the rest of the Greeks. Obviously, this movie portrays the Persians as a godless horde, bent of domination. Perhaps this is the true story. True, the Persians were an expansionist empire, and true, the Persians decimated countless cultures, but they also were scientifically ahead of the rest of the world by many leaps and bounds. However, what "300" got me thinking about was how over several centuries, the Greeks and other cultures on the edge of Europe held back this invading army, thus preserving the future. Really and truly, the 300 Spartans represent the dividing line between the East and the West. In the end, the West held the line and Rome arrived, France and England flourished and later the New World was born. Would I be sitting here blogging if Sparta and the Greeks had not held the line? I don't know, but somehow I doubt it. I am glad the Greeks held it and kept back the invaders. Now, I don't buy into some of the lofty notions portrayed by the movie about Spartan values, but I do buy into the idea of what was accomplished. Therefore, I say, "Long Live the West."