American heroes come in all shapes and sizes: A President who disregards the advice of his attorney general to rescue captive military forces. A fourteen-year-old youth who forges his mother’s signature to join the military and then stows aboard a ship to engage in battle. A Supreme Court justice who, as a youth, had once dated a young woman who also became a Supreme Court justice, then spent decades serving on the bench alongside his lifelong friend.
Mike Rowe, consummate storyteller, surprises us with these and other true tales in his new film Something to Stand For. His emphasis is on patriotism as he leads the viewer on an epic journey to Washington, DC, and to the front lines of the American Revolution, World War II, the Civil Rights movement, and more.
Rowe, whose varied career has led him to the stage and the television screen, has narrated programs on the Discovery Channel, The Science Channel, and National Geographic Channel. He has a popular podcast titled The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe. He’s perhaps best known as narrator on the long-running Discovery Channel series Dirty Jobs.
Mike Rowe talked recently about how his goal in Something to Stand For was to present history in an enjoyable way. “The thing about movies,” he said, “is—and I say this as a guy who’s really only done one, but I’ve worked in TV for 30 years—it’s fine to have agenda, it’s fine to have a message and a point and a purpose. In fact, it’s important to! But if you’re going to wade into this world, your first duty to the viewers or to the listeners is to entertain them. It’s that simple! If you can’t do that, then all of your intentions are just lectures and sermons and lessons.”
Rowe acknowledged that while it may be true that people need those things, that’s not why they go to the theater or why they watch television. As the writer and star of Something to Stand For, Rowe modeled his reporting after radio broadcaster Paul Harvey’s classic show The Rest of the Story. “There were mysteries,” Rowe said, “and they gave you an opportunity to learn something you didn’t know about someone you did know.”
Rowe wrote several hundred stories in that genre for his podcast. He was eventually invited to convert his stories with their surprise endings into a television show, and then a movie. But what should be his theme? Rowe was acutely aware of the decline in patriotism in America in the last decade, especially among young adults. Thinking about the challenges facing America in the current era, Rowe chose to focus on patriotism, to choose stories that reinforce our appreciation for the American spirit.
“You know, all things considered,” he thought, “given what’s going on in our country right now, it might be fun to ruminate on patriotism and tell some stories you may not have heard about. And in between those stories, we’ll visit the monuments and memorials, the places in our nation’s capital that were erected to celebrate these people.”
As for how Catholics and other Christians can help to strengthen America, Rowe reflected: “Well, I would suggest that Church (with a capital ‘C’) is important today, in ways that a lot of non-churchgoing people might be on the verge of realizing. By that I mean that beyond the shared faith of the congregants, there is the egalitarianism that comes from sitting next to one another—with a shared faith, but maybe a different income tax bracket, a different color, or nationality. All of the smaller things that separate us go out the window when we’re shoulder-to-shoulder in a pew. George Bush got a lot of guff for saying this, but we really are ‘a thousand points of light.’”
Rowe added one more thought. While making Something to Stand For, he had, as he said earlier, visited the monuments that commemorated American heroes and celebrated their contributions to our nation. His favorite moment during the filming, he said, was not planned—rather, it happened while filming at the World War II Memorial. “We were setting up for a shot,” he said, “and I had planned to walk toward the camera, saying things. But while I was waiting for the crew to get everything together, an honor flight showed up, and I saw some old men in wheelchairs with their families and volunteers, being wheeled through the Memorial for the first time.”
Mike Rowe asked the director to change the plan, and to let the camera crew film him in a different situation than had been planned. He ended up having a conversation with a 91-year-old veteran who had fought in Korea. The man had never been to the Memorial before, and he was overwhelmed. Mike took advantage of the chance encounter and included it in his film. As Rowe recalled, “To hear him talking to me about gratitude and service, as the tears streamed down his wrinkled, leathery face—you know, for all your planning, sometimes the better option pops up right in front of you.”
Something to Stand For opens in limited release on June 27, and in most theaters it will run until July 4. Information about tickets and showtimes in your area can be found on the film’s site. As Americans prepare to celebrate the founding of our nation on July 4, this inspiring cinematic work can give fireworks and picnics a renewed meaning.
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
The most unpatriotic act today is Trump’s (and -most of- GOP’s) equivocation of patriotism with support for him. While branding himself to be the quintessential American patriot, Trump’s actions and rhetoric contradict the essence of patriotism. Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and his encouragement of the January 6 Capitol assault are prime samples of his deeply unpatriotic behavior. True patriotism involves upholding democratic principles, respecting the rule of law, and fostering unity among citizens. Convicted felon Trump in contrast has demonstrated behavior that is deeply unpatriotic, undermining the democratic foundations of the U.S., flouting the rule of law, and sowing discord among Americans. The virtue of patriotism begins with the rectification of the term patriotism.
Once again Donald Trump makes his appearance in the comments for an article not written about him.
So true mrscracker. But when you see the name Deacon Dom you know that you are going to get the liberal democrat view whether it is on faith or politics. I suppose that it is CWR’s way of being “fair and balanced.”
So do we vote for Pres. Biden, the hypocritical Catholic who advocates abortion on demand, gender transition surgery for children, and seems to have no clue about how to deal with volatile situations in the world, allowing protesters to wreck colleges and steal graduation ceremonies and celebrations from hard-working students? Really now, are we supposed to vote for an unknown intellectual candidate that has no chance of winning unless God performs a miracle? Yes, it would be wonderful is these smart and experienced candidates would have a chance, but for various reasons (often related to inability to raise funds and gain the support of their peers, they don’t have a chance of even getting 1% of the vote–face it and vote smart. Like it or not, we have two choices to vote for, and I will definitely NOT be voting for Pres. Biden, the abortion advocate, the LBGTQ+ yes-man, and a weakling when it comes to dangerous situations in other countries, leaving the U.S.A. vulnerable to attack on our own soil as well as at foreign U.S. bases. I will be voting for Pres. Trump–a complex individual who has shown himself capable of leading with strength in spite of the vicious attacks against him and his supporters by the leftist organizations that are anti-God, anti-religion, and anti-U.S.A. Yes, there may be other more Catholic/desirable candidates–but they don’t have a chance with a hole in it (as my mother used to say) of winning, and voting for them will only hand the election to Pres. Biden and four more years of appeasing liberals, giving our tax monies away to young people who don’t think they should pay back their student loans, advocating abortion on demand, crusading for children to have “gender transition” treatments (butchering them), and undermining the American military as well as taxing hard-working Americans to the point where they are working hard to earn less take-home pay. Let’s be wise as serpents even as we are gentle as doves.
Right. So instead we should all vote for the political party full of groomers and sexual deviants, racists, antisemites, Marxists, abortionists, liars, atheists, and people who weaponize federal agencies against dissenters. No thanks.
Him without sin cast the first stone.
Lots of stones thrown at unborn babies if any one truly believe in a mighty GOD, have a lot of change to consider in their own hearts.Where are all the GODLY men who would dare stand in that position?
I pray for us all… the root of evil is$ doesn’t mean all people with money are evil. But the true evil in this world is influenced by wealth, ELECTRONIC CURRENCY. Look into that. Prayers for all🙏
I could not agree more. Patriotism is love of country. Trumpism is love of (Trump)self.
Have to love yourself before u can love others, God made us in HIS image, who dare destroy what God creates. Except Him alone. Which He does direct the heart of the king. I’ve been praying for Biden,but seems God is in control, where man’s money can’t! His health! God never intended for us to have a king, HE is our KING! If people truly followed Him we’d have HEAVEN ON EARTH!! Trust Him with ALL your heart.. Pray a GODLY man step up in our country but beware of the Antichrist who will fool many.. And it’s NOT TRUMP! In case you were wondering. God will use him just as He use many who are imperfect.
Look at King David????
God Bless , may your Faith grow stronger than the fear which tries to manipulate this world, WHICH WE OVERCOME, Faith!!!
Sounds like a great movie. Going to tell all my MAGA friends about it.
The article is about Mike Rowe, not Trump or Biden.
“A fourteen-year-old youth who forges his mother’s signature to join the military and then stows aboard a ship to engage in battle.”
This may have been an act of “patriotism”, but it certainly wasn’t observant of the Fourth or Eighth Commandments.