Today, I’ll go off on a bit of a tangent. I can tend to do that a lot in my life – but hey, this is a blog about my journey, so I guess it’s okay to put up information on any part of that journey. Until and unless I decide to focus a bit more – which is unlikely, as it seems my life is always all over the place.
Today I went to see an Oscar nominated documentary called “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers”. Again, I feel like I’ve lived in a cave for a portion of my life – especially the last 10-15 years, ugh. I can use the excuse that I was barely born when all the Vietnam War stuff happened – but is there an excuse that I know nothing about it even now in my early 40’s?
Since I saw this movie as part of a Cinema Club, we were fortunate that one of the co-producers/co-directors was there at the end of the movie to provide a Q&A session – Judith Ehrlich was more than eloquent and passionate and willing to stay and answer and speak for as long as anyone cared to listen.
I highly recommend this movie. It’s release into the general public is just beginning. If you get the chance, are interested in a bit of American government history, this is a highly informative movie. It’s truly amazing how parallels can be drawn from the history in this movie to events that are happening today. Beyond the government history lesson, and it’s a bit hard to get beyond that, but the movie is also an interesting study on the changes in a person – extreme changes at that. The filmmakers do a fabulous job showing Daniel’s journey and how he can be so aligned on one side of an issue – especially when it relates to his ego and career at that point – and then, how he can state his “world was split in two” and he chooses to completely turn his life upside down, follow his heart and gut and listen to his integrity. He is then moved to expose the truth even though it costs him all the things he has previously held on to.
It truly left me feeling like I should make myself more aware of my government and their actions and be a voice for myself in this world we live in.
Even though tomorrow I’ll be back to my simpler life and writing about how the year is beginning in my garden, the information and awareness I gained from this movie, will be with me and is bound to come out in many areas of my journey….I hope you’ll all be here to join and share.
