American Sniper

Last week, the man who killed Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield was convicted of murder.  And though I’m glad there is some kind of justice for these two families, I want to talk about the movie that brought Chris Kyle’s life to the front of our collective minds. I haven’t read the book and I haven’t read a lot of the news stuff either, but I did see the movie. I saw his widow at the Oscars talking about the movie too.

It is not an easy thing to take another’s life so it is a rare few who are courageous enough to bear that burden for the sake of protecting our own. Chris Kyle seems to have been a rare man indeed.

Bradley Cooper played Chris Kyle brilliantly. I knew going in to the movie that I was likely to cry (and we know how I feel about that) but I wanted to see this story, this honor being paid to the real Chris Kyle, his story and his family. So, I sat transfixed watching a man do what he felt honor-bound to do despite his own mental well-being and the possible loss of his own life, and his wife and child. He was clear on what he felt he had to do and he did it unflinchingly over and over again.

The movie showed well how his struggles, his grace, his patriotism and his courage.

So, I made it thru the entire movie without a tear although it was a gut wrenching watch and then the end credits started to roll where they began showing the clips of the real Chris Kyle, his family, the people lining the streets to honor the motorcade to his funeral, the stadium full of people paying tribute to a real American Hero… I lost it. Then the tears flowed freely. And they were deserved. What a loss.

Here’s to Chris Kyle and his family!