Category Archives: Back in US
One word. Lincoln.
Holy cow! My wish was granted. I’m on my return journey and pen is to paper again. Given my travel schedule these days, in-flight may be the only time I will be able to blog anymore (has “blog” become a verb now?) .
This may be old news to you by now but as I am saving movies for my long haul flights (or vice versa), I am a bit late to the game with “new releases”.
After having recently read one of many biographies of Abraham Lincoln, I was looking forward to Spielberg’s production.
I figured there was not much that could go wrong. What with Spielberg + Daniel Day Lewis + an awesome supporting cast including Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones. [And when exactly did James Spader get so plump?].
Yep, it was as fabulous as expected. And more. On two occasions, I found myself getting very emotional. Wanting to bawl but merely (surreptitiously) wiping copious tears.
The first was when the 13th amendment actually passed in the house. The second when Lincoln was assassinated. We all know the history. But still.
And frankly, although the genius of Spielberg/Day Lewis was what made me cry, I was in fact getting more affected by the real history – the real man and legendary President.
It was about that Abraham Lincoln and what he managed to accomplish for the country and its future generations (forever). Wow. And today, we are able to elect a black man to be President*. Pinch me.
So, if you haven’t got down to it yet. Go. Watch.
Get humbled once again by the greatness of Abraham Lincoln.
* Here’s something funny. Or sad. Those “Democrats” of that time period, the ones especially from the South who fought so hard against the emancipation of slaves – want to bet I can find hundreds – no, thousands of them even today? Only today, they may be called by a different name. Ironical and sad, but true.
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Well, after I watched this greatness, I switched gears completely.
And then I knew I was really watching a movie, not history. 🙂
When you spend 20+ hours on an airplane, twice in three days you’re allowed to pass time this way. Now this one – it could have been Hollywood or Bollywood, same difference. The hunk in question was (a very hot) Richard Gere (at sixty!!!) in a movie called Arbitrage, a masala movie if ever there was one, albeit one of the smarter ones.
This, you are allowed to skip. Of course, it depends on what you’re after. 😉
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Progressive Action From An Old Country
Here I go again. Taking actual pen to actual paper. I feel a compelling need to write while in flight, don’t ask me why. And this was a particularly long journey – all the way from the Western U.S. to Bombay for two days of meetings (“the return” – but that’s a reflection for a different day).
Here’s what I was thinking about today – Americans (or the rest of the world for that matter) don’t give the Brits enough thought or credit. But something that just happened ought to be lauded. And copied.
I’m talking about the progressive action taken this week by the U.K. government in legislating gay marriages. When I think of how gays are treated in the world, it bears a close resemblance to how women were (and are still in many cases) treated.
As a left-leaning liberal, it is incomprehensible to me that gays are somehow considered unequal to others. Or that any humans can be considered unequal just by virtue of their birth, how they were born. Some majority groups in power simply increase their power quotient by putting down the minority. Perhaps it’s just a natural extension of their macho factor?
Anyway, it’s great to celebrate what this old country is doing to protect the rights of all human beings – including those who just happened to be gay. By doing so, it’s showing the world its leadership and progressive thought, even while being surrounded by conservatives from many corners.
These are the kind of noticeable steps that help the rest of the world change too. Slowly but surely. Therefore, it’s time to once again use concrete actions to celebrate equality and humanity. Isn’t it?
Before I end, I must put in a plug for President Obama who in his second inauguration speech just last month said the following –
“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths — that all of us are created equal — is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall…”
He continued:
“It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts.
It would be great to see this transformed into progressive action in the country, and not just in a handful of states. Just saying.
Now I hope I find something just as new and bright to write about and celebrate on my long journey back!
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The Yin and Yang of Life Anywhere 