Timothy Long

so, in the interest of feeding the sick inclinations i possess to keep step with all things media, i went to see the new film “lions for lambs.” having heard some of the bad reviews from the sources that i trust, and having heard some of the good reviews from the usual suspects that i do not trust, i had anticipated a 2-hour experience of biting my fingernails, shaking my head in disagreement, and feelings of regret for having spent $9 on an effort to demean american war efforts in iraq.

however, at the end of the film i found that many (if not all) of my predispositions had been put to rest. the film was relatively fair to both sides of the political spectrum with regard to US foreign policy; at least in the sense that both sides were allowed to present their opinions in a fashion that most partisans would identify with.

but to my surprise, i felt that the ultimate signification was that the right-wing, conservative value system was the more moral, more patriotic, and more decent of the two; something i thought not possible from an effort by robert redford. then again, maybe i’m missing something.

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.

John Stuart Mill
English economist & philosopher (1806 - 1873)