My thoughts for today: Entertainment award season is upon us; The Golden Globe Award announcements are next month, and the Academy Awards will be announced in January. Ive had the privilege of seeing two movies that should be right in the front of the pack for Best Picture; Twelve Years a Slave, and Lee Daniels The Butler. Both movies are based on the true life accounts of two men, one who witnessed history thru 30 plus years as a butler in the White House, and the other who suffered thru 12 years of unspeakable treatment and torture during our countrys dark past. I commented on The Butler once before, and the narrow minded comments that were posted proved to me that there was a segment of our country that would rather believe the negative reviews than going to see the movie. One commenter actually posted that the story was fiction. I implored that person to look up the story, or at least see the movie and judge for himself. Needless to say, he didnt do either; Fox News talking points and comments was all they were able to offer. There are people that would say that The Butler did nothing more than stir the boiling pot of racism in this country today. They couldnt be more wrong; it opens the discussion. The story was about one mans journey through our countrys history over the last 35 years. Each president that was depicted in the movie was done so positively and with grace. My favorite part was when President Reagan asked the butler, Cecil Gaines (incidentally the fictitious name was based on Eugine Allen, who served under 6 presidents over 34 years) to mail a letter to a constituent who asked for money. Mr Reagan didnt want his wife Nancy to know that he was sending money to people who wrote to him. That was actually accurate; Ive read many times of Reagans generosity. Cecil witnesses first hand Eisenhowers reluctance to use troops to enforce school desegregation in the South, then the Presidents resolve to uphold the law by ordering to racially integrate a high school in Little Rock. Or the scene when Nixon was about to be impeached, and the butler comforting him. Cecil witnessed history, not only in the White House during his employment, but also in his personal life when his son co-founded the Black Panthers. In the end, Cecil lives long enough to witness history again when we voted in the first African American as President. Twelve years a slave was a raw, unflinching look into our countrys dark past, pre civil war. I will not go into details of the humiliation and torture; suffice it to say that if anyone saw the Passion of the Christ, you get what Im saying. Solomon Winthrop was a free man, born and raised in NY in the 1800s. He was tricked into going to Washington, and kidnapped and sold into slavery in Louisiana. I wont go into details here, but it is important to know that Solomon wrote of his experiences, once he regained his freedom. He wrote the book 12 years a Slave in 1853, and it is a startling account of slavery in the 1800s. The book is as important a piece of our history as the Diary of Anne Frank is to our Jewish brethren. I guess my point is that in order to understand and get along with one another, we must understand our nations history; all of it. Not just the parts that we are comfortable talking about, but everything that shaped this country into what it is today. You can shout slogans, you can quote Fox News talking points, read Liberal Media Biased blogs, waive the posters and show up at rallies. But until everyone has read and understood the entire history of American, we are trivializing our past, and endangering our future. God Bless America, and may God have mercy on the souls of the those who subjugated others in their pursuit of the American Dream. Thanks for letting me rant!!
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 18:20:39 +0000
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