A conservative blog site asked readers to submit their suggestions for the top ten conservative movies of all time. Many of the movies nominated were were not surprising; Patton, Ben Hur, Forrest Gump, even Batman. I nominated one myself. The post got me thinking about some movies I have enjoyed over the years. One in particular came to mind; "The Ruling Class" starring Peter O'Toole. "Ruling Class" is about the scion of a wealthy, aristocratic family in England. After the scandalous death of the Earl, the family is desperate to keep the estate in the family. The problem is that the only heir to the estate (Peter O'Toole) is in a lunatic asylum for believing he is Jesus Christ. Desperate, the family calls in a prominent psychiatrist (the local "Master of Lunacy") to cure O'Toole so he can assume control over the estate.
The psychiatrist confronts O'Toole and asks him that, if he is truly Christ, would he mind showing him a miracle. O'Toole obliges and asks the doctor to hold out his hand. The doctor does so. "There is your miracle" pronounces O'Toole, "the miracle of the human hand." The doctor sneers at O'Toole's offering and demands a "real" miracle and asks O'Toole to levitate the sofa. O'Toole sighs; "every day you see a thousand miracles, and yet you insist on cheap parlour tricks." How many of us, surrounded as we are by countless wonders and miracles, still demand that God prove himself by performing some cheap parlour trick?
It is of note that after he is "cured", O'Toole's character takes his place in the House of Lords, and becomes a murderer.
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