I first remember going to see "The Ten Commandments" as a youngster with my family at the theatre in Sutton, Ne. Since that night I have always "known" what Moses looked like. Charlton Heston, most recently known for his involvement in 2nd amendment rights advocacy. What you may not have known is that Heston as Moses was great casting. In the world of fantasy and celebrity excesses Heston took unpopular stands because they were right. I will always wonder if his roles in "The Ten Commandments" and "Ben Hur" shaped his character or if his character shaped those roles. To be sure, we need more people in the public eye, standing for what is right regardless of popular opinion or political correctness.
The following from Chuck Colsen at breakpoint.org:
".....and if you had to pick a cultural icon worthy of the status, you could not do much better than Charlton Heston. If you have been reading the tributes, you have seen why: Married to his wife, Lydia, for 64 years, a beloved father and grandfather, a staunch supporter of civil rights who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and stood nearby as King delivered the immortal “I Have a Dream” speech.
Yet there are those who deride Heston for the causes that he devoted himself to later in his life, such as Second Amendment rights and protecting kids from an increasingly coarse culture. I think these people are missing something. It is not the man who goes easily along with the prevailing winds of the culture who most deserves our respect and admiration. It is the man who stands up for his beliefs, against the popular trends of the day—even when he has something to lose.
If Charlton Heston had not been such a man, he never would have supported civil rights when he did—that was a time when much of
By the same token, if he had not been such a man, he would not have stood up years later in a Time-Warner shareholders’ meeting and read aloud the complete lyrics of rapper Ice-T’s “Cop Killer” CD that Time-Warner had just released. Later, Heston recalled, “When I read the lyrics to the waiting press corps, one of them said ‘We can’t print that.’ ‘I know,’ I replied, ‘but Time-Warner’s selling it.’ Two months later, Time-Warner terminated Ice-T’s contract.” Heston said, “I’ll never be offered another film by Warner, or get a good review from Time magazine.” But much more important to Heston than any career opportunity, was doing what he knew was right.
That is what made him such a great and rare figure. He was not content just to be celebrated as a cultural icon for playing roles like Moses, Ben-Hur, Michelangelo, and others. He was willing to risk scorn and ridicule to be a countercultural icon as well. And he was as courageous in his life as the characters he portrayed on film. May his example inspire many others to take such a stand, to help shape, heal, and transform our culture."
