Just a quick note. Wife and I started this documentary last night. We've put it off as friends have warned it will depress us. So far I haven't learned a lot I didn't know from other sources but I do find the fleshed out historicl context beneficial. And the rhetoricl move to center the movie on Eisenhower's warning that "We must guard against military industrial complex" is brilliant. I also like the music but it seems a carbon copy of Errol Morris' style in Fog of War and Fast, Cheap and out of control. Favorite lines so far:
"I think numbers are almost distracting" Donald Rumsfield
"God bless the military contractors" some senator
Friends' warning was right on: it's quite depressing. AGAIN I wonder why I haven't more actively participated in the anti-war effort. A couple of years ago I met a Quaker war protestor; I've been on her email list for two years. She sends announcements to upcoming rallies every few weeks (she just sent some for the recent Bush visit to SLC). The answers to these simple questions tell it all: how many of her emails have I actually read? About 30% How many rallies have I attended? 0
I just do not understand myself; on the other hand I better understand why we are still in Iraq and why we We WE haven't done anything to put a stop to it.
2 comments:
I saw a bumper sticker today that read, "If you are not outraged, you are not paying attention!" (or something like that). Rob and I met at a non-violent action nearly 15 years ago and since then we've participated in our share of demonstrations. The thing that has always bothered me is that people at rallys so often look alike. Birkenstocks, beards, shorts...all the same. Rallys lose credability when it seems that only a small group of very marginalized people are interested. Its so easy to dismiss the group by labeling them "leftist, tree-hugging, feminist, liberals!" But those rallying aren't the only ones outraged. Clearly you are. I am.
Having said that, a couple of weeks I saw about 6 leftist, tree-hugging, feminist, liberals with signs at the intersection of the small town I live in. I honked as I drove by for support. But then I wondered, what's the point? 6 people marching around adds up to nothing but a waste of time. But that's the same argument people make against recycling or other green choices. One Yogurt cup won't make a difference...but everyone's yogurt cup makes a huge difference! And that's where I herald the 6 (probably Quakers) people marching around waiting for the rest of us to get on board...birkenstocks or not. If everyone in my small community who is outraged stopped and marched along, I bet someone would have noticed.
It's worth occasionally showing up for the rally. I find I'm not much of a shouter or a chanter, but am glad that just by being there, I add to the visual message.
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