"First Man"

"First Man" is not a great movie.

It's full of good people, including Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy. It was directed by Academy Award winner Damien Chazelle, and it tells the story of Neil Armstrong, the 'first man on the moon.' The problem is that Armstrong was apparently so taciturn, so guarded emotionally, that there's not much to hang a drama on.

So, even with all of that talent involved, it's a slightly above average movie. Certainly nowhere close to "The Right Stuff", which is a classic. Not nearly as entertaining as "Apollo 13".

What is interesting, at least for me, is that the film is a stark reminder that as a nation, we used to do great things--or at least attempt them.

As JFK said about going to the moon, "we choose to do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard."

We don't even attempt hard things anymore. Now all we seem to be able to do is tread water.

We give tax cuts to billionaires, keep Defense contractors fat and happy, make sure every nut has access to all the guns he or she needs, and meddle in women's private lives.

Massive infrastructure rebuild? Na.

Green energy program? Na.

Universal health care? Na.

These are all easier than going to the moon. But...na.

Let's not even think about a concerted national effort to curb the increasingly obvious effects of global warming.

For these things we'd need leadership on both sides of the aisle.

And one side has decided that nothing is as important as keeping their rich backers satisfied and their crazy base in a constant state of agitation.

Just like that, we've turned into a sad, empty husk of what we once were.

You Can Do This Or You Can Do That

You can go see Michael Moore's new documentary, Where To Invade Next, and see how intelligent, reasonable people deal with issues.

Or...

You can watch any Republican candidate talking, shouting, whining, et cetera, and see how panderers cajole drooling imbeciles into a mindless frenzy.

You choose.

Two Things

As 2015 recedes into the dust of history, and 2016 waits in the wings, getting ready to scare us all to death, there are two things I urge you to do:

First, beg, borrow, or steal a copy of The Devil's Chessboard, by David Talbot.

And secondly, go see The Big Short.

In tandem they pretty much explain where we are, and perhaps, where we are going.

Until we meet again, have a great whatever...and so on....and toss back a triple shot for me.

Print The Legend

As you may recall, in the classic John Ford western "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", the man who became famous for shooting Liberty Valance wasn't the man who actually shot Liberty Valance.

When he tries to explain this to a bunch of journalists at the end of the picture, one of them replies:

"This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact...print the legend."

I was reminded of this recently while reading about the fabled charge up San Juan Hill, in the Spanish American War.

Did you know that a company of black Buffalo Soldiers fought their way to the top of the hill either well before or at precisely the same time as Teddy Roosevelt and his Roughriders? (Historians disagree on the exact timing.)

I didn't.

Their white commander called them the bravest men he ever saw.

I didn't know that either.

But when you see the pictures celebrating the famous charge, there's the Roughriders, that strange amalgam of Harvard toffs and western shitkickers, and there's Teddy with that crazy look in his eyes. And not a single black face in sight.

Now, I'm not saying that Teddy and his boys weren't brave, too. I'm just saying....well, you know what I'm saying.

(Curiously, the 'hero' of the film, the man who did shoot Liberty Valance, did it from the side, at night, out of a dark alley, while Valance's attention was elsewhere...hmmm...makes you wonder about the nature of some kinds of heroism, don't it? John Ford was a complex man.)