Robin Hood Rides Again and Again and Again!

My wife is an avid Russell Crowe fan, and I must admit, I am not too far behind her.

Crowe has starred in a new 2010 release entitled Robin Hood, a solid retell of a great tale.

What struck your humble servant as he watched it was the emphasis in the story on taxation without representation. King John, the nemesis of Robin Hood, of course, ended up signing the Magna Carta at Runnymede in 1215.

It stated the government could not commit the country to war without express approval of Parliament. The 100 Years' War was wreaking havoc on England's treasure - human and financial.

Robin Hood, according to the movie, was instrumental in mobilizing the good folk of the realm to pressure the monarch, the government, into signing the Magna Carta, which is our American birthright also. Only Congress can declare war says our US Constitution.

Yet we have wars raging in two countries, Iraq and Afghanistan, without the required official declaration of war that the US Constitution requires, as it restates the 1215 principle of Magna Carta. Oh well, who cares about history?

In fact, we are living through a similar time in which we are having taxation without representation. The government represents the lobbyists not the everyday. Robin Hood confronted this issue - taxation and wars without consent of the people.

Life imitates arts, goes the old saying. Film is art. We may be on the verge of imitating Robin Hood again, e.g. the Tea Parties in the USA.

The story of Robin Hood speaks to our times, and surely the makers of the Russell Crowe movie on Robin Hood know this. It really shook your humble servant here to realize we are back at a time before Runnymede, England, and 1215 AD. Perhaps we will be able to restate it in our day.