The Sandlot Sniper: An American Sniper Review

Chris Kyle

When I was a lad, some neighborhood associates and I would often gather in the summer for war games. The battlefield consisted of a three acre field behind our house. The field was covered with large mounds of dirt and sand deposited by a dump truck from a nearby construction company. I had built a tree fort that overlooked the field from our backyard. At the other end of the field, my friends had built an opposing tree fort. We would divide into two teams and attack ear other’s base of operations in our tree forts. Our armaments included dirt clod hand grenades, sling shots, and Daisy BB guns. My mother, on many occasions, had warned me that we could shoot an eye out with such weaponry. Had my father caught me and the other kids shooting BBs at each other, well, let’s just say I’d rather lose an eye than face those repercussions. Be that as it may, it was exciting to sit in the tree fort during the heat of battle and listen to BBs ricochet off the branches and walls of the fort.

One day, the opposing insurgents mounted a full frontal assault. The firefight was intense. With rocks and BBs whizzing by our heads, my team and I blazed away with our BB guns and sling shots at the opposing forces, which were advancing from behind one mound to the next. As they approached the outer perimeter of our defenses, I took aim at an enemy soldier as he sprinted across a short patch of open ground. Leading my target just right, I fired. The BB struck the enemy in the finger. The result was astounding. His scream began low and rose in pitch to decibels almost beyond the range of human ears. I found his caterwauling and gesticulations that followed to be very disconcerting. Needless to say, the battle came to an abrupt end. The other kids vanished like a fart in the wind. Fortunately, I was able to staunch the bleeding and dress the enemy soldier’s swollen appendage. Even more fortunately, I convinced him not to spill his guts about the incident. (We didn’t call it bullying back then, it was just survival of the fittest.)That’s when I realized mom was right—you really could shoot an eye out with a BB gun. (Apparently I was a slow learner.)

When I turned 18, the Vietnam War had recently ended. Naturally, I had paid close attention to news about the war in Vietnam (before the draft ended), and like most young men entering adulthood I became aware that real war is not glorious, romantic or fun. Hence, when the movie American Sniper came out, I was a bit reluctant to see it. But I went. And I’m glad I did. As I suspected, the movie was tough to watch in some places, and heartbreaking. It reminded me that as a nation at war, we have a moral obligation to collectively grieve with the families of our soldiers killed and maimed for doing what our country asks them to do. The movie reminded me what it costs our soldiers, physically, psychologically, and relationally when the public and our political leaders send them off to fight. It’s too easy for us to say yes to war and go on with our lives without much inconvenience. I understand we, as a nation, did not have many options but to fight this war against terror and extremists, but we need to be keenly aware that war costs more than dollars. Hopefully, such knowledge about the human impact will help us demand that our leaders find broader solutions, or change tactics, or do what it takes to win, or end the fighting as soon as appropriate without allowing the military industrial machine to rule the day. War is a complicated mess.

At the beginning of the movie, the main character, Chris Kyle, is a young boy getting instructions about life from his father. His father tells him there are three types of people in the world: sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. Sheep don’t know how to protect themselves when they get attacked. The wolves are predators that attack the sheep. But the sheepdogs represent people who protect the sheep. Sheepdogs have the gift of aggression and can execute focused aggression when needed to protect the sheep. In my opinion, this is a fairly accurate representation of humanity. Sure, it’s a generality, but it works. Chris Kyle was a sheepdog. When he grew up and entered the military, his primary focus as a lethal sniper was to protect his fellow soldiers. That is what drove him.

I’ve found that, as Christians, we tend to believe we are all sheep. We hear of ourselves referred to as sheep in the Bible and from the pulpit. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that “sheep” are a metaphor for our relationship as human beings with the Good Shepherd, Christ. But not all people are actual sheep in terms of disposition. Some, unfortunately, are wolves. And some are people who have the nature of the sheepdog. I am thankful for the sheepdogs among us. Perhaps the church should help train them to be excellent sheepdogs. By the way, do you believe that followers of God should never be confrontational or aggressive? If so, take a look at 1 Samuel 17:1-52 where young David (who ironically, is a shepherd) kills the giant warrior Goliath. David was a shepherd AND a lethal sniper with his sling. We all know the story of how David dropped Goliath with a single stone to the head. David was a sheepdog who knew how and when to aggressively overcome evil. By slaying Goliath, David brought the conflict to a conclusion and saved the lives of many of Israel’s soldiers.

Here’s the thing: a sheepdog can serve in a role that is more suited to sheep, but the sheepdog will long to protect and serve in a more aggressive role and cause. Let’s encourage sheepdogs to use their skills and disposition in opposing evil in urgent problem areas such as human trafficking, abortion, poverty, hunger, domestic violence, homelessness, addiction, disease, government corruption … there are many causes that need sheepdogs helping out on the front line and advocating for the weak and vulnerable. Maybe our sheepdogs need to be police officers, or battlefield medics, or soldiers, or short-sale investors who root out and expose companies that have fraudulently manipulated their stock to an overvalued price (thinking outside the box). The opportunities are endless … as long as we don’t pigeon hole them into the role of sheep.

CAUTION: American Sniper contains plenty of f-bombs, some sexual innuendo (though no complete nudity), and fairly graphic wartime violence. Viewers with extreme sensitivity about violence towards children should probably not see this movie as there are a couple of scenes where children are harmed or killed.