There are certain biological imperatives that make boys be boys. Boys are naturally drawn to the healthy, distinctively male "white hat" cowboy-lawman archetype that has made the Western genre highly popular in America for decades: from puppet "Howdy Doody " (1947-1960) to "Roy Rogers" in the 1950s, "Bonanza" (1959-1973) and "Gunsmoke"'s 20 seasons -- the longest-running Western in TV history -- concluding in 1975. Similarly, on the silver screen, acting legends like John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Jimmy Stewart, and Clint Eastwood have fleshed out self-assured moral compasses: the impulse to uncompromising independence and the uniquely American entrepreneurial spirit.     This example, often with a more modern science fiction twist represented by both the Star Wars and "Star Trek" sagas, has been enjoyed and emulated by generations of American...(Read Full Post)