The Anschluss
The hills are alive with The Sound of Music. They are also alive with the sound of jackboots. The German word Anschluss means union and it is generally referred to Anschluss Oesterreichische of the unification of the Germanic language countries of Germany and Austria that occurred, not by referendum, but by force when the Wehrmacht marched into Austria unopposed in March of 1938. We all know from the portrayals of Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews that the Austrian aristocracy and regular folks alike either went along with these strong arm tactics of the little Austrian-born leader of Germany, Adolph Hitler, or they got out (or died trying). I am reminded of that obscure Kevin Costner film The Postman from 1997 where the world is in a dystopic post-apocalyptic state with pockets of city-states in survivalist mode. The film takes place in the Pacific Northwest and is about an itinerant man (Costner), who takes on the persona of a U.S. Postal carrier in order to be sheltered and fed by one of the protective, walled towns he stumbles on. Of course there are the forces of evil afoot who are marauders who take what they want and need from the towns in their territory, and they do so by sheer force. The impression we are given is of a survival-of-the-fittest world where good bands together but is regularly overcome by evil. Costner accidentally happens on a bromide to the good people of this town from whence he seeks shelter. They crave information, truth about the outside world and news from now distant lands where relatives and leaders have presumably survived. Costner becomes that symbol of hope as a postman and inadvertently starts a version of the Pony Express to reestablish postal service among the regional towns.
Strangely enough, when Costner got Shanghaied into the forces of the evil marauders, he spent a first night watching how the ruler of this band, a General Bethlehem played by Will Patton, kept order among his over-aggressive minions. He learns that every night they are shown a movie on the rock walls of a quarry where they encamp. When the projectionist tries to put on a copy of Universal Soldier, a movie about mayhem and marauding, the troops revolt and insist on the projectionist putting on their favorite movie, The Sound of Music. The juxtaposition is of these hardened and ruthless mercenaries being soothed by the sweet melodies of Julie Andrews were Costner’s (he also directed the film) way of telling us that it may be obvious what evil lurks in the heart of men, but it may be more subtle to recognize that underneath that evil lives the goodness we all wish for all mankind.
We are living in exactly these times. That is to say, we are pre-apocalyptic and not yet isolated into city-states in a rebirth of Dark Ages feudalism, but we are in the beautiful American version of Salzburg, focused on our version of Edelweiss and ripping down Nazi banners when they appear to remind ourselves of our sovereignty and our distaste for totalitarianism. There are those few among us that are zealots to their cause and are proclaiming that they need to arm themselves to protect their rights and rights of all the rest of us sheep that don’t know enough about what is best for the world to fend for ourselves. Many of the ordinary folks are cowed into submission, just as many in Austria would not outwardly oppose the Anschluss for fear of reprisals. Fear of anarchy is nowhere near as great a momentary force as fear of retribution when someone with a machine gun is standing in front of you.
But that is why I like the combined imagery of The Sound of Music and The Postman. In combination they show us that evil and right through might is a wearying path and that all souls, even those with jackboots on, eventually want to sit and relax in peace and raise a family in the knowledge that they will be safe and prosperous. That peace never comes from force except for brief moments. It comes only when you respect the rights of others to live their lives. It comes only when there is a collective will to help one another in these simplest of life goals. Life is hard. It is intended that we band together to help one another, to live in some form of collective. We need it and thrive on it. If we all preferred to be hermits we would not be so troubled by the constraints of COVID-19 isolationism. It reminds us that collectivism is a natural human tendency. And while rallies and Spring Break partying may seem at times to be the enemy, the gathering that man has always opted for in one form or another is the gathering to praise the heavens and the greater being or beings that give us the bounty of the Earth every day to survive in this cruel and harsh natural world. Indeed, the best expression of this giving of thanks most often comes in collective singing or hymn and chant. Every major religion shares some form of this praise that gets elevated vocally to the greater powers above and all around us. It is the sound of music that lifts our collective souls and to which we all privately aspire.
So, how do we get to that place? Do we need to spend time in the renegade camp in the quarry, spending our days doing harm to one another in order to be free to feast over the spoils and watch the von Trapp family escape the Anschluss for the freedom of the mountains of Switzerland? To begin with, we need to be allowed to have our communication mediums, whether they be the USPS or the Pony Express, or maybe especially a free and unbiased internet that is regulated against manipulation for political purposes. With that as a base, we can reconnect and eventually regather to share the fruits of our bounty with one another. If we can get that far and we are able to do it without jackboots, we are all better off.
But sometimes the world forces us to see and feel the jackboots on our symbolic and all-too-real necks in order to remind us that peace, freedom and prosperity all come with a price. They are not easy because man is not a one-dimensional and easy beast. He is, at his core, still a beast that may have evolved somewhat towards enlightenment, but may still need to be soothed in order to dissipate his courser instincts.
I wish everyone could be sat down in all the vacant and underutilized theaters in America (I wish for the world, but the cultural differences force me to focus on my fellow Americans first) and be shown first, The Sound of Music and then, directly following it, The Postman. I am sure there are far better choices than these that others can suggest to accomplish the same sort of attempt to evoke a sense of righteousness for the moment we currently endure. I am in favor of any and all ideas to get everyone to realize that to threaten violence if they do not get their momentary way, is not a solution that ends well for anyone….ever. The Anschluss had its moment, but before long those with jackboots on were throwing them away and pretending they were mere victims of a societal trend that overwhelmed them. Evil fades and righteousness always prevails sooner or later.