Unwanted Thoughts on Protesting the Flag

            I’m going to start off by saying I really do not care about this topic as there are far more important things going on in the universe.  For example, the US debt just hit $20 trillion, Angela Merkel just got a fourth term as German chancellor, classes are busy as ever, and I’ve started writing again.  However, my news feed is being barraged with people arguing or giving their thoughts on the recent player protests where some aren’t standing for the national anthem and I find myself both annoyed by it and having trouble not responding to it because I feel a need to always give my thoughts on everything (which is a problem).  So instead of responding to it, I’m just going to make a post here with my thoughts and then get on with it.  To sum up: it is usually a bad idea to protest the flag or the national anthem or any other symbol of patriotism because it loses the people who care about it without winning anyone over.

            From my experience, there are two types of people on the flag issue: those who don’t care either way and those who don’t want the flag protested. I haven’t seen anyone out there who is openly saying “YEAH, DOWN WITH THE FLAG!!!  LET’S FLIP IT THE BIRD EVERYTIME WE WALK BY IT!!!” so that group doesn’t really seem to exist.  In general, those who do protest it by kneeling during the national anthem, burn it, or otherwise, usually do so as a method of voicing their frustration towards other issues in American society.  This is significantly different from the debate over the Confederate moments as proponents actually debate the merit of those monuments whereas here it is about what the image represents.  The problem is that this is largely lost on supporters of the flag as they view it as an attack on what the flag represents: the country, the constitution, etc.

            Throughout history, there have been protests against the flag (such as during the Viet Nam War, the Iraq War, etc.) where it has been burned, defamed, or otherwise in opposition to US policy.  There has been much debate over this and the Supreme Court has held that this is protected by the first amendment, but usually the protesting of the flag has sparked pure backlash.  Objectively, there is a segment of the country that does take it as a symbol of what America stands for (or should stand for) so going after it is deemed as an attack on the country more than anything else.  Though these statements are probably unfair, based on the aforementioned logic it should come as no surprise that those who do protest symbols like the flag are accused of “hating America.”  Inevitably, the message is lost and the action comes across as an insult.

            Since the act comes across as an insult, the average protester will lose the person they make angry.  As was noted by Dale Carnegie in the book “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” no one likes to be belittled or insulted so you are inevitably going to have people not take you seriously with that reaction.  Since there is a vocal group that does take the flag so seriously, this method becomes ineffective since it guarantees people won’t care what you have to say no matter how important you think it is and thus you’ve already lost them.  Also, as previously mentioned, the only other side is a group that doesn’t care about the protests period so you’re not really winning anyone over to replace the people you are losing.

            Taking a look at the issue the NFL players claim to be protesting in favor of, criminal justice cannot happen without conservative and liberal support.  Louisiana managed to pass ten laws on criminal justice reform despite having a Democratic governor and Republican legislature and in Illinois a bill aimed at helping previous offenders get a business license (which would reduce recidivism rates) was introduced by a Democrat and signed into law by a Republican governor.  As is the case with many issues, people need to come together to focus on the importance of the topic to get support.  However, the only things these protests seem to be doing is making criminal justice reform look bad and driving away a group of people.  Whether people are right or wrong to be upset, the blowback is going to turn people off to the issue.

            There are going to be responses to the argument I’m making.  Two I’ve already heard include “it’s not about the method, it’s about the ideas behind it,” and “everyone must do their part to protest so these celebrities should use their time to draw attention to more important topics.”  Well first, yes, it is about the method and that’s probably the most important part of advocacy.  I’ve worked in many campaigns so I know for a fact that if I had walked up to a potential voter and said “I don’t give a crap about your issues, vote for my guy,” I’d probably lose my candidate a vote.  To truly win people over, you have to reach out to them where they are.

            Going back to Carnegie and based on my own experiences, you are more likely to win people over or influence them by getting on their level.  Understanding where they’re coming from, making them feel like they’re important, addressing their concerns, and relating important issues to them is far more likely to win them over than anything else.  It also creates empathy as you begin to understand them more and why they feel that way.  It can help build connections despite differences.  In a country that believes itself to be horribly divided, this is would be very beneficial.

            As for the celebrity argument, movie stars, celebrities, etc. are usually really bad advocates for much of anything.  The average football player is going to be worth millions of dollars more than the average person.  Colin Kaepernick is estimated to have a net worth of about $22 million so he’s not really someone the average person will identify with.  Considering the fact that the average victim of police violence or problems with the criminal justice system is going to be dirt poor, he’s a bad representative of the people who are actually impacted.  As a result, people probably aren’t going to take his thoughts or the thoughts of other players all that seriously.

            In the grand scheme of things, most people don’t like being talked down to where they are.  The reason people don’t like it when famous people talk politics is because most of these people don’t experience the same problems the common man does to the same level.  Many people have to worry about providing for themselves, their kids, finding a job, etc. and that’s not a problem Hollywood or even Washington regularly experiences.  So when more prominent individuals like actors or politicians or singers try to tell people how to think, it comes across as elitist.  Considering the fact that none of the NFL players are really giving up anything besides having to be in a possibly uncomfortable position for a few minutes, they’re not sacrificing anything of note and probably won’t be taken seriously.

            If you truly want to win someone over, be their friend.  Just do what was said in a previous paragraph: get to know them, understand their perspective, empathize with them, and help them to see things for themselves.  People will always take people they know more seriously than some pundit on TV.  Case in point, there was a black man by the name of Daryl Davis who managed to get 200 people to leave the KKK by befriending them.  Building social capital can improve relations and bring people together.  That’s the only way to improve things.

            So as I said, the issue of the flag protesting isn’t all that important in the grand scheme of things.  Also, I do understand the importance of criminal justice reform as I have written about it quite a bit.  However, I find the issue to be overly divisive which would probably drive people away and make them less likely to take it seriously.  Constantly virtue signaling and going on about how important supposed values are without actually putting support behind it and reaching out to people where they are won’t go anywhere.  So if society truly does want to make things better, it has to promote empathy and understanding.

Why I Won't Be Watching the Oscars

The Oscars are happening this weekend.  Many right now will be waiting in anticipation in hopes that their favorite film of the year will win best picture.  Others will take to their computer screens to whine about the race of the contenders.  So there will be a wide range of reactions to the ceremony.  Mine, however, will be very simple: I won't be watching because I have a billion better things to do with my life.

Honestly, I haven't cared about the Oscars since 2013 when Michelle Obama introduced the best film.  It didn't bug me because of my historic distaste of the Obamas, but because it got me to question how pretentious the whole thing seemed.  Why was the spouse of a major world superpower’s leader being called in to read off the choice of best film selected by a bunch of random people I've never met?  Also, they didn't even bother to have her there in person so it came across as insane self-promotion for the Oscars just to feed their ego.  Starting with those two thoughts, I just came to view the event as pointless.

So really, the first reason is that I have no connection to the choosing process.  There's only one film that is a contender for Best Picture that I have interest in, but even that wasn't my favorite film this year.  That's really a problem then because I can't really call something the "Best Picture" if I don't actually like it.  I have no control over the Oscar voters or which picture gets selected, so the results to me are meaningless.  Therefore, the award is pointless.

The second problem is that it doesn't change the film.  I have never watched a film solely because the Oscars said it was good.  I did see Godfather, but only because my parents said it was a great film.  I intend to watch Birdman one day, but only because a friend of mine really loves it.  Meanwhile, I went to see Brooklyn last year and hated it so much that I left early.  A film is good or bad to me regardless of what the Oscars say.

The third is that there is a lot of corruption at the Oscars.  Adam Conover of Adam Ruins Everything did a special on the behind the scenes campaigns.  Essentially, the film studios send gifts to the electors or invite them to celebrity parties to win their votes.  So really, the best film isn't the one selected, but the one that pays the most.  That's just slimy.

I'd be lying if I said I'm not happy when a movie I like gets nominated or wins.  It's always nice when something you like get recognized.  However, at the end of the day it's just an award for the shelf.  It doesn't really change taste or interest.  That's why I'll probably be reading Sunday night.

Black Sheep: A Review

            I only try to review things I feel passionately about.  I chose not to review Split because it was good but didn't blow me away.  What I'm reviewing today is not something I felt incredibly strong about, but I am reviewing for other reasons.  I realized that few people my age have probably heard of this film so I thought it would be interesting to make someone aware of its existence.  So, today I'm talking about the movie Black Sheep.

            Basically, the film stars Chris Farley and David Spade.  Farley is the doofus brother of a prominent Washington State politician who is running for Governor.  However, Farley keeps making ridiculous mistakes that the media eats up which keeps on embarrassing his brother.  As a result, David Spade is sent by the campaign to keep Farley out of the limelight.  The rest of the film follows Farley and Spade as they try to win votes.

            Farley is easily the biggest (no pun intended) part of the film.  He is the main character of the film and it is his character's story.  In many parts, he does a lot of yelling and is really over the top.  In some cases it works, but in others it can be kind of annoying.  Most of that though is the fault of the writing as the jokes don't always hit.

            However, Farley does still turn in a good performance.  His character might have been unlikeable if he had been more aware of how bad his mistakes are.  However, Farley portrays the character as very innocent and good natured which makes him more sympathetic and forgivable.  Farley's acting makes the character more enjoyable and believable.  Without a doubt, he did elevate the film.

            Spade played a decent straight man.  He's easily the most believable in the film as clearly he is only hanging out with Farley as he hopes this will get him a job in the governor's administration.  For the most part, a lot of crap happens to him and he responds to it well.  He contrasts Farley well as being more cynical and grounded in reality.  The two do make a good pair which makes it all the sadder they are no longer able to make films.

            The last highlight of the film is Gary Busey.  He plays a crazy former soldier who keeps interjecting himself in Spade's life.  He is delightfully over the top in every scene he is in as he plays a wacky side character very well.  Every scene he is in is pretty funny as he chews the scenery around him.  I'm not going to say he's the best part, but he is the only thing that is consistently funny.

            The most important element, however, is the comedy.  It's mostly hit or miss.  A lot of the jokes are predictable which makes it hard to laugh.  The film really shines though at some of the crazier moments like Farley and Spade going to the Governor's inauguration.  Overall, sometimes I was laughing hard and other times I thought the scene wasn't as funny as the film intended.

            In conclusion, I can't recommend this film.  I did enjoy it okay, but it didn't make me feel like it was necessary.  The performances made some of it better, but some jokes just didn't work.  The film's kind of like a watered down Tommy Boy so I would suggest watching that instead.  However, if you do watch it, you won't regret it,

            Before I go, I'll say the film did resonate with me more than expected for personal reasons.  I tend to find Happy Gilmore as funny as I do in part because I come from a family of golfers and therefore relate to the sport quite well.  I have been on several campaigns so I do relate to the situation the characters find themselves in throughout the story.  There are times when, like Farley, I've been overly enthusiastic about being on a campaign despite that not making a difference, and there are times, like Spade, I'm doing crap I don't want to do or spending time with people I don't want to be with because it has to be done and I hope it will pay off.  Overall, it does connect to me through campaigns, even if it's not too in depth about politics.  So I will admit that was nice.

The Snow Queen's Sin

            I’ve always been a huge Disney fan.  I grew up with it, I went to Disney World every few years, and it stills holds a special place in my heart.  With that in mind, it’s not all that surprising that one of my favorite films of the modern day is also a Disney film.  Yes, I’m sure several of those reading this are cringing in fear when I say that I really like Frozen, but I bear no shame in this as it was a very good film.  I enjoyed the music, the animation, and most importantly the characters.

            In the event that you have been in a coma over the past three years, left the Amish life recently, or were born yesterday and somehow managed to get on a computer, I will give a brief synopsis of the film (which means there will be spoilers for the rest of the blog post).  The story primarily follows two sisters, Elsa and Anna, who are princesses of Arendelle.  Elsa was born with the power to make snow and ice appear, which she uses for her and Anna’s enjoyment.  Unfortunately, during one of their playtimes, Elsa accidently hurts Anna which almost costs the poor girl her life.  As a result, Anna’s memory is erased while their parents essentially have Elsa shutting herself away from the world as she grows more fearful of hurting those around her.

            Time goes on and the parents die, resulting in Elsa (the older sister) becoming Queen of Arendelle as a result.  During the coronation celebration, Anna accidentally reveals her sister’s powers which results in the public fearing Elsa and her running far away into the mountains to get away from the world that fears her.  Finally free from the restrictions of the world back in Arendelle, she lets her full powers come out.  The problem is that that results in most of Arendelle being frozen over completely with Anna chasing after her sister to stop her and hopefully save their kingdom.  I’ll touch more on the ending later, but this is what you essentially need to know going in before we can continue.

            Admittedly, one of the characters in the film with the biggest fanbase was not Elsa or Anna.  My sister and my mother were huge fans of the character Olaf, the “cute” snowman comic relief.  Going by the number of friends I had who would share memes relating to him, the amount of merchandise I saw being sold based on him, and the fact that he was the one everyone in my circles of friends would say he was their favorite character, he was definitely the one who got a sizeable fanbase.  However, my favorite was actually Elsa, the “Snow Queen”.  I found Elsa’s story to be amazingly relatable, easy to understand, and have a much deeper message.

            I find Elsa’s story to be the very story of sin.  This was most likely not intentionally done, but we see Elsa’s struggle with her powers, who she is, and what she’s capable of.  Hers is a journey into self-identity as well as right and wrong while failing to understand either.  It’s mankind’s own search as well.  In this post, I hope to highlight how Elsa’s story relates to sin and what sin is here.

            To start off with the definition of sin, it is not merely evil of its own merit but instead is the absence of good.  Good is something that has to be chosen for evil to cease.  As St.Augustine noted:

For what is that which we call evil but the absence of good? In the bodies of animals, disease and wounds mean nothing but the absence of health; for when a cure is effected, that does not mean that the evils which were present—namely, the diseases and wounds—go away from the body and dwell elsewhere: they altogether cease to exist; for the wound or disease is not a substance, but a defect in the fleshly substance,—the flesh itself being a substance, and therefore something good, of which those evils—that is, privations of the good which we call health—are accidents. Just in the same way, what are called vices in the soul are nothing but privations of natural good. And when they are cured, they are not transferred elsewhere: when they cease to exist in the healthy soul, they cannot exist anywhere else.

Put another way, C. S. Lewis noted:

There is none of our impulses which the Moral Law may not sometimes tell us to suppress, and none which it may not sometimes tell us to encourage. It is a mistake to think that some of our impulses—say mother love or patriotism—are good, and others, like sex or the fighting instinct, are bad. All we mean is that the occasions on which the fighting instinct or the sexual desire need to be restrained are rather more frequent than those for restraining mother love or patriotism.

So sin becomes not that which is inherently bad, but that which is used incorrectly for not good purposes.  Throughout the story that becomes Elsa’s biggest problem as we shall see.

            After Elsa hurt Anna (completely by accident), she spends her early life completely shut in her room, afraid that she is a monster that could hurt the ones she loves.  Terrified of the powers she has given, her parents have her hidden away so that she reveals nothing.  Unfortunately, this grows only worse as she runs from it as her room freezes over.  The more this happens, the more fearful she grows of herself and of hurting everyone around her.  As a result, she’s quite miserable.

            And yet, Elsa is not doing anything actually wrong nor are her powers inherently bad.  Initially they were used for playtime with her sister which was a fun recreational activity, but then an accident happened that resulted in her sister getting hurt.  The powers themselves are not bad, merely their misapplication.  However, they are treated as bad which results in her being shut up like she is.

            It’s not all that surprising then that she comes to hate herself and believes that everyone is looking for a reason to hate her.  I know from personal experience that this type of repression only makes things worse.  Solely focusing on the evil one can do with something results in them viewing themselves as evil.  She has talents, but the fear she is shown ends with her coming to hate herself.  This is no different than when we focus on our own impulses or talents as evil and hide from them.  It’s a lot like that bible story where the scared servant hides his talents the master gives his servants talents to invest them which results in nothing being accomplished.  Nothing good comes from it.

            Things change though when her powers are revealed.  After being exposed to those at her coronation celebration, Elsa runs off into the mountains where she will hopefully be free from persecution and hatred.  Away from the world that does not understand her, hates her, and keeps her from being free.  Alone in the mountains, away from civilization, she can finally be free and be herself.  In response, she lets her powers go to their fullest use as the snow surrounds the mountains and she even builds an ice castle.  For the first time in her life Elsa is free.

            This is a lot like when people run away from God or dogma in the belief that then they can find true happiness.  Often humanity does this under the belief that it can find better things away from his will.  This is what led Jonah to run from God to getaway from going to Nineveh (although Jonah was fleeing in dereliction of his duty while Elsa is fleeing perceived hatred which is much more sympathetic).  We see the modern day with people criticizing religious dogma or saying there is no point to following God’s will instead focusing on their own selfish pursuits.  This is especially common in relation to sex, gender, or abortion (I’d provide a link, but if you haven’t seen one by now then it should be really easy to find one).

            Of course, Elsa is not truly free as her actions start to impact others.  As her snow spreads, it starts to cover all of Arendelle in snow and ice, resulting in the fjord near the city she lives in freezing over preventing anyone from leaving and the people start freezing.  It gets even worse as blizzards finally come.  The city freezes over and the people suffer.  The result is her powers not merely impact her own life but those around her as well.

            In a defense of confession, Pope Francis once said, “someone can say, ‘I confess my sins only to God.’ Yes, you can say to God, ‘forgive me,’ and say your sins. But our sins are also against our brothers, against the Church. This is why it is necessary to ask forgiveness of the Church and of our brothers, in the person of the priest.”  Elsa suffers from the same problem.  She is under the impression that her sins are not hurting anyone as she is far off in the mountains away from anyone else where she can be whatever she wants to be.  Unfortunately, her actions spread far beyond her own scope and impact her kingdom.  As Pope Francis notes, our sins not only impact ourselves but those around us.  Theft is taking from someone else, affairs are done against the committer’s spouse, and murder impacts both the victim and their families.  Sin is bad primarily because it is disorderly and it not only does this for ourselves but for those around us.

            Of course, Elsa is not fairing much better personally.  Initially Elsa is happy to finally be gone from her the world around her away from the world. Yet when Anna finally catches up with her sister, we see a scene where Elsa is rather meek and sad.  She still wants to be with her sister so much, but can’t.  In the end she can’t have what she wants and there is no truth in her supposed “freedom”.  She is miserable for this reason and cannot have what she truly wants.

            This is similar to when we try to leave God’s plan.  We seek out different things to give our lives purpose and yet in the end we can’t.  Staying away from what we are designed for ends in turmoil and pain.  Elsa bears the worst in the story as she abandons not only what she hates about the world, but the good of it (especially her sister).  In the end, what she actually has is hollow and empty.

            One of the things though that drives Elsa away from her kingdom is hatred.  Not Elsa’s hatred but the hatred from others of her.  She gets called a monster, a sorceress, and they send a party to kill her.  As a result, Elsa only comes to hate herself and fear her subjects even more than she already did.  In the end, she loses the will to live and becomes resign to her fate.  Nothing remains for her beyond her fear because of all the hatred she was shown.

            Unsurprisingly, this is an easy way to lose people.  Dale Carnegie noted in “How to Win Friends and Influence People” that the easiest way to drive someone away is to show anger and hatred.  To win someone over, they don’t want to be attacked, they want to be shown respect and compassion.  I know from personal experience that someone who berated or insulted me only made me get angry at myself and that person.  So a different way is necessary to address these feelings.

            As Elsa has finally accepted her situation, she turns herself over to be killed by the movie’s villain as he raises his sword to finish the job.  However, Anna gets in the way to stop that and almost dies in the process.  From this, Elsa finally realizes that she is loved and that her hatred of herself is unfounded.  From there her heart starts to warm as she finally clears her head and starts to take control of her powers.  The villain is defeated, the storm finally ends, and Elsa is free to be with the ones she loves.

            Most people want to be a part of something, they want community and companionship.  As we discussed in a college class of mine, the Beatles gained a lot of popularity because they offered community.  The song Yellow Submarine says “We” quite often which is meant to include the listener, Eleanor Rigby focuses on loneliness, and the video to All You Need is Love had the Beatles singing while their fans surrounded them .  In the end, all people want to have a connection to someone (especially Elsa) and offering this is what can win people over and get them to leave behind something.  Everyone wants to be a part of something more and offering them that is how to spread your message.

            It is not that surprising that sacrificial love frees Elsa as that is Christ’s story as well.  In the end giving his life took away our burden and freed man from his own sins so that he may have a relationship with God.  God himself offers this love and it is what can get mankind free from its bondage.  So similar to Elsa being set free by Anna’s love, we are set free by Christ’s love for us.  Of course, how it is shown is also important.

            So in the end Elsa is freed by love.  She’s no longer a shut in and uses her powers for what she used to.  The film ends with her and Anna going ice skating with their subjects on the palace grounds as they are finally where they want to be.  We see that Elsa is using her powers correctly which is good for her and those around her.  So sin is the same way.  We all have impulses and talents, but it is what we do about them good or bad.  Right does exist but it is something that must be chosen or pursued.  In Elsa’s case, she learned that in the end and it was only after being showed something good in her life.  I hope we can take that message to heart and learn from it, for that will be what sets us free.

Patriot Day: A Review

           Tonight I went to see Patriot Day with my mother.  I rarely go to see films in January since they usually suck (Bye-Bye Man anyone?), but this was made by the guy who did Deepwater Horizon which was fantastic.  In short, the film was fantastic and I highly recommend it.  However, I am going to go a bit more into detail about the film in this review.  The review will be spoiler free, though I will give the basic plot.

            The film is about the Boston bombing that took place in 2013.  It follows the various individuals who were a part of it, including the FBI, the Boston Police Department, the Tsarnaev brothers who were behind it, and everyone else.  The film starts off before the bombing, shows the bombing, and shows the manhunt that brought the Tsarnaev brothers to justice.  It was actually pretty intense as we saw the bombing and everyone's reaction to it.

            One of the things that makes the film interesting was the tone.  It's set in the real world and all the people in it act like real humans.  This juxtaposes very well with the intense bombing scene or the pure lack of empathy the Tsarnaev brothers seem to possess towards other humans.  It makes the intense scenes all the more disturbing and the quieter moments all the more real and emotional.  This was a tone the director set in Deepwater Horizon so he sets it very well.

            The humanity is definitely effective in this film.  Everyone seems very human which makes the characters all the more believable.  It also makes the Tsarnaev brothers all the creepier.  Dzhokhar was a college student and Tamerlan was married with a wife and kid.  The fact that they're normal humans and yet capable of such horror is disturbing.

            It also makes the bombings all the worse.  Though not all the victims are focused on, you genuinely feel bad about those who died or lost their limbs.  However, the motivations of the main characters is all the more believable as you fully understand their reactions to the bombing.  Meanwhile, the joys of the film are far more enjoyable as you see the city come together to support the police, the cops reflect on their jobs, and the survivors overcome the pain they've faced.  It's a very enjoyable film for these reasons.

            Lastly, the acting is really good.  It has Kevin Bacon, Mark Wahlberg, Tom Goodman, and J. K. Simmons so that's not surprising.  However, each actor gives a great performance that fits with the tone of the film.  Each one is believable in their role.  In the end, this film really works.

            As a side note, I do enjoy some of the modern politicians being portrayed in the film.  I'm a political science major so seeing something relevant to my field of interest is always appreciated.  The film did have former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and the then mayor of Boston Thomas Menino.  However, this is irrelevant to the film itself since this subject would naturally have them.  Nevertheless, I still enjoyed it.

            Overall, it was a highly enjoyable film.  I still preferred Deepwater Horizon, but that might just be I prefer the story.  Peter Berg did a fantastic job and I eagerly await his next film.  Really, it was a great film made by great people.  Definitely one you should see!