In 1984, the film Red Dawn was released, becoming the first film to hit theaters with a PG-13 rating. The film stars Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Charlie Sheen, Jennifer Grey, Ron O’Neal, Harry Dean Stanton, and Powers Boothe. Red Dawn is Hollywood’s creation of a Russian invasion on American soil – it is World War III. Colorado teenagers watch as Russian paratroopers float down from the Rocky Mountain sky onto their high school football field. A group of teenagers manage to escape into the mountains as Soviet troops take over the Colorado town. The teenagers who escape call themselves Wolverines, same as their high school mascot. They fight back against the Russians, surviving the bitter Rocky Mountain winter and betrayal. Anyway, after several years, the war ends and there’s a memorial on what’s called, Partisan Rock, with an inscription that reads, “In the early days of World War III, guerrillas – mostly children – placed the names of their lost upon this rock. They fought here alone and gave up their lives, so that this nation should not perish from the earth.”

Red Dawn flashed into my mind, and I thought about all of the Republicans that would cheer the Russian invasion, similar to how Republicans are so pro Putin right now, and not Hollywood made cheering – Republicans are full on Putin pushers. These same Republicans would be fighting against the Wolverines, they would be fighting against Patrick Swayze, and that is unacceptable. Full disclosure, I love Patrick Swayze he gave us – Ghost; The Outsiders; Too Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar, and that Saturday Night Live sketch when he was auditioning to be a Chippendales dancer with Chris Farley. He was so damn good. Republicans would have fought against Patrick Swayze, that’s wrong. Republicans are wrong not to defend democracy, wrong to throw America under the bus, and wrong to be Putin pushers.

Of course, Red Dawn is a fictional film, but it made me think of what people would do in the event of a Russian invasion, not to lessen the unjustified horror of the very real Russian invasion in Ukraine…it made me ponder what all these Putin pushing Republicans would do. Trump’s GOP welcomed an insurrection and are still spewing Putin talking points to justify Trump’s attack on America as political discourse. Republicans wouldn’t be Wolverines, they would be cheering for Russia – just like they are cheering for Putin now, those Republicans would let this nation parish on a partisan rock.