The Rifleman and the Perception of Reality

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen 

Although the word iconic is overused, it does apply to The Rifleman. It ran from 1958-1963 and has been syndicated in the subsequent decades. Lucas McCain (Chuck Connors) was a widower raising his son Mark (Johnny Crawford). (I liked it before becoming a widower myself.) The actors had a bond that lasted until Connors died. Another star of the show was that tricked-out Winchester 1892 using 44-40 loads that could be swapped with the right pistols.

Chuck Connors and Johnny Crawford, Wikimedia Commons / ABC Television, 1960 (PD)

In "The Clarence Bibs Story," comedian Buddy Hackett played the part of a "mop boy" for a general store. He was wearing a gun that he cleaned for a customer. Bad idea because he had no skill with it. Clarence wound up killing a tough guy through a stupid accident.

Although I have to spoil the ending somewhat, I'll leave out some details in case you want to see it. Shouldn't be too hard, it's even posted on YouTube right now.

Clarence was full of himself and whiskey, and even tried to shoot it out with McCain. Being fast and a marksman, he dispelled Bibs of his notion. A couple of the local toughs (Lee Van Cleef was one, but I did not recognize him) were getting ready to throw down on Clarence.

Lucas was brilliant, and Bibs knew enough to stifle himself while Lucas spoke. McCain planted seeds of doubt in the minds of the others. Instead of an accidental shooting, Clarence was fast and clever when he killed the tough. They believed it and were afraid.

Aside from being an interesting and unique story, I saw something illustrated that I have long believed: The perception of reality is often more important than reality itself. If you truly believe that something evil is waiting outside, then you won't go out when you think it's around — even if nothing is there. Similarly, the guys thinking Clarence Bibs is far more dangerous than he appears.

The secular science industry espouses leftist causes. They are almost constantly on the prod when it comes to evolution, and we have seen that much of what they present is hooey. Sure, it is presented with authoritative assertions, scientific jargon, implications that the reader is stupid for daring to question evolution, and more. The perception of their authority and accuracy become more important to many people than the realities. Creationists want to teach people how to think and to see through their nonsense. Secularists want to tell people what to think.