Hatfields & McCoys

Yes I realize that I am a bit late to catch this train, but I only watched it on DVD last night. This 6 hour mini-series aired in May and since I really don’t watch television I totally missed it.

From the History channel:   It’s the true American story of a legendary family feud—one that spanned decades and nearly launched a war between Kentucky and West Virginia. Hatfields & McCoys, a three-part miniseries, showcases an all-star cast led by Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton. It chronicles a clash of clans that inspired passion, vengeance, courage, sacrifice, crimes and accusations, while forever transforming the two families and the region they lived in.

The Hatfield-McCoy saga begins with Devil Anse Hatfield (Costner) and Randall McCoy (Paxton). Close friends and comrades until near the end of the Civil War, they return to their neighboring homes—Hatfield in West Virginia, McCoy just across the Tug River border in Kentucky—to increasing tensions, misunderstandings and resentments that soon explode into all-out warfare between their families. As hostilities grow, friends, neighbors and outside forces join the fight, bringing the two states to the brink of another civil war.

As I watched this I was saddened that there is this legacy of .. .. .violence, arrogance, and twistedfaith. So many deaths and broken lives.. ... all because of misunderstandings and family loyalty. It started from one incident and soon escalated into this monumental, vengeful, battle - one that doesn’t end for generations. 

There are three themes that I found throughout the movie:
Un-forgiveness
The most obvious and yet important theme is un-forgiveness. There were so many times that a small dose of humility and forgiveness from either side could have ended the bloodshed, but both families held onto their grudges.

Mis-use of Scripture
Throughout the movie, characters, especially Randall McCoy, used the Bible to justify their own ends. Randall loved to quote, the parts of the Bible about hatred, vengeance, and damnation, but he totally ignored the many verses about forgiveness and allowing God, not man, to judge. The Bible can be used to justify just about any position.

Redemption
The feud could have gone for many more years and realistically could still be going on now, but it ended because one side decided enough was enough. We see in this story that the only way that these kind of feuds end is when someone stops. Someone has to let go.

There is probably a little of the Hatfield and McCoys in all of us. We all have had the desire for revenge and the unwillingness to forgive. We can learn lessons from the mistakes of others.

Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it.

Blessings