This 16-minute speech is President Dwight Eisenhower’s farewell address to the nation. As supreme allied commander in Europe during World War 2, Dwight Eisenhower bore as heavy a responsibility as anyone in the 20th Century. This, one of his final acts after 50 years of service to the nation is very much worth the time to watch.
With the 1960 election, much of the nation desired to pass the torch of leadership to the rising generation. Many at the time considered Eisenhower a sleepy, out of touch grandfather, whose time had passed. Though far from a great communicator, what he lacked as an orator, Dwight Eisenhower more than made up for with his vision.
Known as the “Military Industrial Complex” speech, President Eisenhower’s farewell address goes far beyond that issue in addressing the challenges the nation would, and we now face. Central to his call is the place of statesmanship and the need for balanced cooperation between the private and public sphears. He also challenged the nation to resist the temptation to use fear as a tool of governing and put the needs of the nation above personal and partisan benefit. Perhaps he was not in touch with the time of Camelot, but this speech shows Eisenhower was very much in touch with the challenges facing our nation through the ages.
Won’t You Be My Neighbor offers a contrasting voice and message to what is in the air today. The film is not obvious in pointing out the differences; it doesn’t have to be. There was an audible murmur when they showed tape from the first week of the program in 1968. The video showed the puppet character King Friday the XIII fearing the “Changers” and requiring reluctant subjects to build a wall to keep people who wanted to bring change out of his Kingdom. The clip ended with the human Lady Aberlin sending balloons with “signs” calling for peace and acceptance of others over the wall to the King.
Even though Fred Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian clergy, he never mentioned it on the air and rarely in public. Rather than saying he was ordained, he presented the face of Christ to children and the world. His genuine love of children led him to take time to be with and listen to children and then offer them a non-anxious, calming presence. He respected children, and he fearlessly addressed topics that all others avoided. When RFK was assassinated Mr. Rogers addressed the issue, explaining what assassination was and the fear and sadness that the nation was feeling. Mr. Rogers knew that the children would know something had happened and wonder why parents and others were sad and scared. To avoid talking about the issue would only make the children’s fear more pronounced. He loved children too much to allow this. Loving and engaging children like this are exactly what Jesus intended when he called for his disciples to allow children to come to him.
A week after there were news reports and film of a hotel owner chasing African Americans out of the hotel pool by pouring bleach into the water to “clean” it, the neighborhood of Mr. Rogers showed him sharing a footbath with Officer Clemmons, portrayed by Francois Clemmons, an African American member of the cast. There was no mention of the hotel incident. there did not have to be.
I thought I would review The Shape of Water, the winner of the 2018 Academy Award for Best Picture in a different way, a text log between me and my niece.
Me: People/govt. afraid of difference in others…other people united, by what makes them different…Allowing what unites them to overcome their difference.
Me: I thought Sally Hawkins’s performance was extraordinary…
In addition to the Best Picture Oscar, Guillermo del Toro won the Oscar for Best Direction. The Shape of Water is a beautifully photographed film where the acting is just as impressive, and as with most fantasy films, The Shape of Water allows, if not demands for continued contemplation and application to one’s life and circumstance. It’s not a film everyone will relate to or enjoy, but it was worthy of winning the Best Picture award.
The program stars Dallas native Jay R. Ferguson (Mad Men) as Chip Curry, a film critic who experiences two life-changing events that led him to reconsider his life trajectory. Chip decides he will attempt to live his life as prescribed by the Bible. To help him in this endeavor he develops relationships with a Roman Catholic Priest and a Jewish Rabbi, who meet regularly in a restaurant/bar for interfaith support. This God-Squad helps guide Chip in applying ancient teachings and practices in a modern context.
Based on the preview shows, it seems each episode will explore an issue of life and faith such as loving thy neighbor and the allure and challenge of modern idols, i.e., cell phones. As with all TV, resolutions come much quicker and easier than real life. Crimes are rarely solved so fast, and trials are never completed in such a timely manner as they are on TV. So it is that theological awareness and discipline are rarely established and accepted so readily as they are on Living Biblically. But the show does address issues of life and faith that may be a first step for persons.
The film would have benefitted from detailing and presenting more of the relationships established between the unit and their allied Afghan forces. After the screening I attended, there was a Q&A with the men Hemsworth’s and Shannon’s characters were based on, Captain, now Major Mark Nutsch and Chief Warrant Officer Bob Pennington. While covered in the film, the full story of the relationship between the members of the unit and the leaders and members of the Alliance group was stirring and added much to the film’s impact. Also, the cultural and political differences that Nutsch, Pennington, and all members of the team had to address and overcome were as vital to the success as any of the weaponry and tactics brought to the mission. As dauntingly impossible as the scope of the mission was, and as dangerous as the combat was as depicted, more details given to these relational and cultural requirements and accomplishments, at the expense of some of the combat sequences, would have reflected better the true and amazingly successful outcome of the mission.
At their best, faith communities are devoted to one another and care for each other, at times more than they care for themselves. Members of faith communities draw strength from one another, teach and when necessary offer accountability to one another. Another commonality between armed forces units and faith communities is the devotion to the mission. Once given an assignment, the successful completion of the mission becomes the primary if not singular focus for members of a military unit or squad. Such should be the case for faith communities. In units, there is neither room nor patience for thoughts, opinions, habits or other things that distract from completing the mission as assigned. Christian faith communities would do better to follow this example and put the mission of loving and serving Christ by making disciples, above all things.
In the midst of this, perhaps the darkest hour in the nation’s history, Winston Churchill, a fiery orator with a reputation for recklessness, replaced Chamberlain. Gary Oldman is rightly receiving Oscar attention for his transformational performance as Winston Churchill. Kristin Scott Thomas also gives a strong performance as Churchill’s wife Clementine, one of the few persons the bulldog PM turned to for strength and counsel.
Experiencing, even in the slightest way, the feeling of facing such darkness offers viewers a greater understanding of what Churchill, and all of Britain, went through in this pivotal time when Britain was the last dim light in a darkening world. Winston Churchill provided much of the energy and hope for that light through his determination and the power of his oratory. Darkest Hour also reminds viewers living through the current uncertain and dark times of terrorism, aggressive despots, as well as political and social division the necessity and importance of political courage, and placing the welfare of the nation above personal or political party interests.
All Photos Courtesy of Focus Features
