Godless Review

When one thinks of the Western genre, the image of shootouts, cowboys, Indians, and a mass expanse of untamed wilderness. Most of the main characters are men. If there are any women, they are either the sweetheart/love interest of the hero, a prostitute wearing next to nothing, or an extra in the background.

The 2017 limited Netflix series, Godless, takes these tropes and fleshes them out. In the American West of the 1880’s, the town of La Belle, New Mexico has lost most of it’s men in a mining accident. The women are in charge, taking the places of their fathers, husbands, and brothers. Alice Fletcher (Michelle Dockery) is a widow living on the outskirts of town with her son and mother-in-law. In the middle of the night, she shoots an intruder. Roy Goode (Jack O’Connell) is a former follower of Frank Griffin (Jeff Daniels), a criminal with a very long rap sheet.

When Frank discovers that Roy is in La Belle, it will be up to the women to defend their home from Frank and his murderous gang.

After watching only a couple of episodes, I have been hooked. I love that instead of being limited in scope, the female characters have finally been given their due. Strengthened by their mutual loss, the women come together to take a stand. From a writing standpoint, I also very much appreciate the equality between the men and women in terms of the spotlight. Each is given a turn to shine without sacrificing who they are and what they believe.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

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Of Course, Lindsey Graham Would Oppose the $15 Minimum Wage

It has been said that a rising tide raises all ships.

Yesterday, President Biden’s 1.9 trillion stimulus package was passed by the House. Among the individual pieces of the bill, there was a proposal to raise the minimum wage nationally to $15/hr. I wish I could say that it succeeded, but it did not.

From the perspective of a small business owner, I understand that it would a financial stretch. But for a multi million or billion dollar company, paying all of their employees a base salary of $15/hr is not going to force the company to go under. If Costco can pay their workers $16 an hour and still stay open, why can’t other companies?

The problem is that Lindsey Graham and other politicians don’t understand that. A living wage is a human right. I’m not an economist, but I have enough common sense to understand that by paying a fair wage, it helps everyone. The less we have to spend on food stamps and substandard housing, the more we can spend on schools, highways, and other important infrastructure projects.

How we treat those who are less fortunate speaks volumes about our society and culture. By keeping a permanent underclass of poverty stricken citizens alive, it tells a stranger everything they need to know about us.