Reposted from my blog at
Three Guys:
You know, it's kind of a shame we don't
actually have a liberal media in this country -- because if we could get a major syndicate like Sinclair to violate federal election law and broadcast
Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry on its swing state affliates the night before the election, there's no doubt we would win.
More after the jump.
This movie is as close to a hagiography as one can come while still remaining true to the facts. And the funny thing is, John Kerry the man truly deserves it. As I was remarking to a friend today just after seeing the movie, he is one of the most intellectually substantial, most morally courageous people ever to seek the office of President. We don't say this enough on our side, because we're still so consumed with anti-Bush animus that it's hard to focus on the many good things about our candidate -- and believe me, watching this movie, it is impossible not to compare the astounding, inspiring life of John Kerry to the shallow, empty, pampered life of George W. Bush, who has never stood for anything, who has never made a courageous choice, who has taken the easy road every day of his life and been rewarded for it.
There is no one I would rather cast my vote for on November 2nd than John F. Kerry.
And this movie is a testament why.
Kerry's actions in Vietnam itself are impressive -- but I wish the political climate in this country were such that we could talk about the time period Going Upriver focuses on, the years when John Kerry really came into his own as a leader: during the anti-war movement.
He didn't have to oppose the war. He did so because it was right. And in opposing the war, he became one of the VVAW's most eloquent spokespeople, rising to national prominence because he was one of the few people who could see a way past the divisions of Vietnam -- a person who before the strife was even over could see how to start healing the wounds of a divided country and begin the process of moving forward, together, as one nation agian.
After leaving this movie, it's hard to imagine a man better suited to be our president in these times.
Now, we're not supposed to talk about this time in John Kerry's life. We leave his history of protest out because we have to, because even now there are short-sighted people who thirty years later still equate moral wisdom with cowardice, who think that to ever say "America has made a mistake" or "We must change direction" is to invite calamity for our country. These people don't want to hear that America was wrong. These people don't want to hear that atrocities were committed, that mistakes were made, that our leaders failed us. They don't want to hear that sometimes we aren't a shining city on a hill.
It's easier to live in that kind of moral certitude than face the truth, I guess. Just ask George Bush.
Sadly, some people still look at John Kerry and cannot see that his actions after the war were done not out of hatred for America but out of a deep abiding loyalty, not only to his fellow soldiers, not only to his country -- but to his conscience. He opposed the war, spoke out against the war, fought the war, not because it was easy but because it was hard, because justice and morality demanded it of him, at great cost.
Not vote for John Kerry because he protested the war?
I can't imagine voting for someone who didn't.
Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry
UPDATE: Turns out you can download the movie for free here. I recommend using the BitTorrent link.
You'll be glad you watched.