Maybe you have seen the movie, “The Big Country.” Released in 1958, the film is set in the American West and in general deals with a land feud between two neighboring ranchers.
An underlying theme of the movie is the incredible vastness of the land. In an early scene, Gregory Peck’s character, James McKay, has an exchange with a resident of the area about the immense proportions of the land all around them. McKay is held in disdain by the locals as he is from back East, and they are proud and haughty about where they live. A local resident arrogantly asks McKay what he thinks about the land.
“Ever see anything as big?”
“Yes,” answers McKay, a retired boat captain. “The Pacific Ocean.”
Well, what I am here to discuss with you today may not be as big as an ocean, but keep that theme of a vast landscape in mind.