learning from the past

I reconnected with an old college professor today. He remarked on the entry where I related how nonpulsed my sons were by the Obama election, saying" it's sometimes hard to understand the moment when you're in it. Only on reflection does it mean something."

And yet, should that be true for everyone? Or should it be the job of the elite - those blessed with education, power or wealth to have greater perspective? Like many, I'm still struggling with the failure of so many to not forsee the financial crisis. What should we attribute this stunning lack of vision to? In retrospect, the shakiness of so many of these financial instruments seems obvious. There are many similarities to current events and previous crisises. Did people simply not know their history well enough? Or is a lack of courage to speak up against what "everyone else is doing?" And if so, how do we develop citizens with more spine to steer the ship in these dififcult days ahead?

a not so special night

which might be the most special thing of all about this election.

Of course, for Richard and I and the rest of the world it was a most special night. My French cousin reports that " One radio commentator this morning said that we were back in the 60's, when everything was possible, and that nobody could hate this kind of America"

My 2 boys are interested in politics and definitely in the Obama camp. They may be glad to be rid of Bush, but the didn't seem to fullly process the historic significance of it. They were a bit subdued. Jimmy asked repeatedly if we could take a break from the coverage to watch The Simpson's Treehouse of Horrors. They took Obama's victory in stride, as if it were the most natural thing in the world that if a person was smart enough, ran a good enough campaign and faced a weak enough opponent then naturally they would be elected.

with tears in her eyes

I somehow manage to have obtained a reputation as a "cool as a cucumber", rational kind of person. But when I stood before my soon to be obsolete touch screen voting machine to cast my vote I found myself fighting back tears. So many things have happened to inspire cynicism and apathy in the past few years. I was especially motivated to vote against the amendment on the ballot to allow slot machines. I find it utterly appaling that our Democratic County Executive, Lieutenant Governor and Governor all made robocalls on its behalf. (why don't we just legalize heroin as well and tax the proceeds "for our children's education"?)

And yet, it's profoundly moving to be able contemplate a ballot featuring an African American man and a woman on it. My French cousin tells me that in France there's "TV coverage planned for all of election night on several French channels, anchorpersons in NYC and Washington, polls being conducted (“if you could vote in the US election, who would you vote for?”), etc!" The eyes of the world truly are on us. It's beyond gratifying to think that it is likely that we can return to being a source of respect and inspiration for the rest of the world.

Thank you for your support

I've had so many possible topics to write about these days that I don't know where to begin. So of course, the list just gets longer and longer.

"Thank you for your support" is the kind of boilerplate saying I never gave much thought to until recently. Now I know all too well how important the "support" of others is to making indie film (and other media) is.

So a big thank you to the good volunteers who made the Utopia film festival possible. We had another succesful screening there last Saturday, full of interesting discussion which I'll get into more detail in another post. Thank you to Video Americain of Takoma Park for acquiring a copy for rental. A big thank you to Victor Valdivia of DVD Verdict whose review was so thorough and insightful. It was obvious he really got what we were trying to do with the film. Even though we are a little independent, he took a remarkable amount of time reviewing every extra. He even made it through the commentary track. If even half the reviews are that exhaustive DVDVerdict is a site to bookmark when researching a movie.

everything we intended

happened last Saturday in the city of Frederick at an art gallery called "The Blue Elephant". We'd made the film to inspire thoughtful discussion - and the audience fulfilled our wish most splendidly. Between 40-50 people not only watched the entire film, but laughed at the appropriate places. Most of them stuck around for the discussion afterwards, which had to be stopped after 90 minutes. All of this occured mostly because of one determined, well connected friend who worked her tail off to make it happen for us.

So in many ways it was a triumph. After many setbacks and frustrations it was reassuring to know that if you put the film in front of the right audience it will have the desired affect. Our challenge remains how to make it happen more often.

show me the money honey

Front page, below the fold headline on Tuesday's Washington Post "Obama adds $60 billion to economic plan . .. ".

Whatever else I am, I'm a pretty strong fiscal conservative who feels uncomfortable with debt. I do realize that some amount of debt can be productive. A mortgage for a family home is widely recognized as a good device to build a family's assets. But what our government already owes is proportionally way beyond this already. I can't see how we can keep running up the debt clock even further. Yet both candidates just keep promising more and more spending and tax cuts.

We all know the lessons of Jimmy Carter's one term presidency. Americans don't want to be told anything negative. But I don't have a real sense of how true this is anymore. I think one of the reasons for the crisis of confidence in our economy right now is because everybody in power is dancing around the issue and not speaking honestly of the tough times ahead. After 9/11 Americans waited hours in line to donate more blood to the Red Cross than it could possibly use because they wanted desperately to do something positive. Obama made a baby step on the right path by daring to mention the idea of turning down our thermostats to save energy. Hopefully it's a path he'll follow further if he gets elected.

Obvious to an 11 year old

My 11 year old wanted to see a bit of the debate last night before bedtime. Since he has to get up earlier these days I said I would allow him to if he laid down on the couch with me. After a short while he said "they aren't answering the questions" and soon fell asleep in my arms. I agreed completely with him. I'd heard the same old tired boilerplate from both of the candidates before. So I turned off the TV and took a few minutes just to gaze at his sleeping face, which made infinitely better viewing.

I've felt disgusted by the presidential debates for several years now. The current debate formats are of severely limited use. I suppose they serve as a test of a candidate’s ability not to fall apart under the pressure of such a venue. This is a bare minimum qualification of a president, but not much more. I don't see what more they accomplish than that.

I've pondered how I would change things if I were in charge. Suppose after the "response" to a question, the moderator would turn back to the questioner and ask if they felt their question had been answered. If not, the debate could not be moved on until the questioner was satisfied, even if it took the whole debate. I certainly wouldn't have let Sarah Palin openly say "I'm not going to answer your question, I'm going to talk directly to the American people . . . “ That’s fine in another venue. Debates are supposed to be about getting the answers we need to make an informed decision.

invest like a girl

I remember reading a while back that men purchase the vast majority of stocks and other investments. However, female investors on average actually have a better performance record with their investments over time. This is because women tend to buy and hold, as they aren't as afraid of commitment as most men. Men, on the other hand, tend to buy and sell too easily. They tend to be always chasing bigger and better numbers. They frequently get burned in the process.

I thought of this when I saw photos today, of the old and new Fannie and Freddie executives. All white males of a certain age. Perhaps it's time to let some new blood take a crack at this problem.

happy days are here again

I was catching up with a friend of mine who immigrated from China in her early twenties. She had been back for the Olympics this summer and found it particularly hard to return to the US this time around. The reason was that in China she felt a certain spirit in the air - an enthusiasm about the future and its possibilities that she doesn't find here anymore. This comment was quite similar to one my cousin had made a year ago. He is a businessman who has had dealings in France, Canada, the US and China over the years.

How have we lost our American brand of optimism? I think 9/11 is still a wound that wasn't healed properly. But I also think the way we conduct our politics is to blame. It leads to a pessimism that things can not change, much less change for the better.

Seppuku

is the Japanese word for ritual suicide by disembowelment. It comes from the Samurai code, with its fixation on honor. I was thinking about this when I read Steve Pearlstein's column in the Business section of the Washington Post the other day. I don't always agree with him, but I think he hit the bulls eye with his insight that none of the Wall Street executives invovled in the current crisis have even apologized yet. There are many executives in Japan who have killed themselves out of shame over far less serious mistakes. I'm not advocating a mass suicide on Wall Street. But I don't feel we can move forward until we hear that they are sorry and show us some contrition. Instead they are just making demands and threatening the end of the world unless they are helped. If they haven't realized the error of their ways, how do we know it won't happen again?

$5583.43

No, that number doesn't relate to the current fiscal crisis. I'm still trying to better understand it before commenting. It's the August bill of Tifanie White, makeup artist to the stars, for services rendered to the McCain campaign for that month.

In fairness, I have no idea what Obama's makeup bill is.

Human Resources

On the list of the career paths I can't imagine myself being able to navigate very well is 'human resources". I believe I could handle the administrative part without too much trouble. It's having to judge a person's suitability for a job that seems very difficult. It has to be a very special and rare skill. Otherwise, why do we meet so many incompotent people in this world of ours?

Yet every 4 years it becmoes our duty to take on this most difficult job. We are asked to evaluate each candidate's qualifications for arguably the most important job in the world and "hire" them or send them the thin little letter of rejection.  We have to ask ourselves - what is the required personality and skill set necessary to lead this country? In the case of Sarah Palin, we seem to also asking ourselves - what isn't relevant to this question?

I choose to stay home to raise the kids, manage the household and make the movie. It has been much harder than anything I ever did "professionally" and has given me many more skills and much more maturity as well. Yet I know this is a tough thing to explain to potential employers and I may have done great damage to my future career prospects.

In some ways I am very frustarted by this fact. I do believe it is deeply unfair that this experience isn't regarded in the same light as paid work by most people. Yet, when I imagine myself at the other end of the table I can emphasize with the person doing the hiring. Not only having children but having made them a priority in my life for so long could be an indication of my ability to commit to the job. I can't blame them for wondering about this.

I keep hearing that it's "sexist" to question whether a woman with children can be effective in a challenging full time job when you would never ask the same question of a man.   On the surface this does seem unfair.   Yet numerous surveys have said that in the majority of households where both partners have full time careers, a dispropriate amount of the housework and childcare still falls on the mom.   Of course it's not all cases, but it is still a likely scenario.  

If you knew that a man you were interviewing were training for the Olympics, president of a non-profit, or heavily involved in other time consuming activities that he wasn't going to give up, wouldn't this raise some legitimate questions in your mind?  As governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin seems to have worked something out.  As my sister pointed out - when you are governor you can make everybody adjust to your schedule.   As Vice President or President, perhaps you can too.  She might already be awake for the famous "3 am phone call", but will she be clear headed enough given everything else on her plate?  

   

the roller coast ride continues

We got a really nice, insightful article from Richard's hometown paper The Somerset Daily American

http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2008/09/13/news/news/news587.txt

And the Amazon subsidary messed up and got our title accidentally pulled from Amazon. I've set up the website so you can buy it directly from us until the problem is fixed.

Street Fight

In the HBO film "Recount" about the 2000 election fiasco in Florida, there is a beautiful written scene that sums up so much. The actor who plays Warren Christopher (who was coordinating Gore's efforts) makes an eloquent speech about how the eyes of the world are watching and their behavior must be an example to all. Then we cut to the actor playing James Baker who was heading Bush's efforts in the Florida recount. To paraphase his words "Gentlemen, this is a street fight".

We all know how that story ended. The curiously timed barrage from McCain's campaign (the day before September 11th) reminds me of the "street fight" comment. Like Obama, I too have a Chicago connection - my grandfather was a politician from the 5th District. Chicago is an excellent place to learn how to conduct a political "street fight". It will be interesting to see whether this is one of the lessons that Chicago has taught Obama.

other foot

One thing that amuses me is how the partisans view certain traits when they are held by their candidate versus the opposition. I'm old enough to remember how Ronald Reagan's oratory either made him "The Great Communicator" or an ignorant actor just mouthing dangerous ideas. Nowadays Obama "articulateness" is either high praise, or indication that he is a frivolous celebrity.

Both politicians rightly should be envied for their extraordinary gifts. They shouldn't be easily dismissed either - even with a raw talent such a gift needs hard work and practice to refine. But both deserve a much higher level of regard for actually having written their own speeches. (this may have been less true once Reagan was in the White House). Sarah Palin's acceptance speech was written by a speechwriter before she was even chosen. A beauty pageant rival said "on the stage, we know how to turn it on". She deserves some credit for having the skill to "turn it on" in her delivery of the speech, but nowhere near as much as if she'd written it herself.

A girl can have it all

She just can't have it all at the same time. This is one problem I have with Sarah Palin.

Let me backtrack a bit. The so called "Mommy wars" where stay at home moms are supposed to be at the throats of "working" moms and vice versa is in my experience a fabrication of the press. At least it's nothing I've ever witnessed in all my years mothering. Most women understand that there are as many ways to be a good mother as there are mothers. They also understand the enormous commitment of time and energy that it takes to do even a mediocre job of parenting. Some have the support of spouses who pitch in and help and others don't. Some have grandmothers, sisters, aunts etc. who will do the same and others don't. Some have a set of job skills that allow them to afford the best help. Others have the temprament to stay at home all the time with their kids and be happy doing it. Some moms would become so depressed and anxious if they did so their kids would suffer much more than from their absence. There is no one formula for being a good mother. Many kids are raised in conditions far less than "ideal" and turn out to be fine contributing citizens. Others are raised by 2 parents in an affluent community and turn out less than great by most standards.

So I don't think anybody should judge Sarah Palin's choice to have 5 kids and a career. She has obviously worked out a way to manage everything. And yet, I'm troubled by the "supermom" image that is being projected here. Perhaps she has double my IQ, triple my energy level and needs half as much sleep as I do. Yet when a woman has that much on her plate something has got to give. There are only so many hours in a day after all. She simply has to be getting a ton of help from family, friends and/or hired help and also letting a bunch of other stuff fall by the wayside. This is more than fine if it works for them. I don't begrudge her success. I just think these women who are glorified as doing it all by themselves are leaving a false and discouraging image to the rest of us to either try to keep up with, or feel inadequate for not meeting.

This brings me to the daughter's pregnancy. Having your own children is the best cure for being judgemental about parents (in particular your own). Having one teenager, and another on the way I know very well how they often don't seem to hear what you've told them a hundred times. Sometimes they make their own dumb choices in spite of your best efforts. Because I know this, I also know that one particular bit of parenting advice is true. You have to be nearby frequently to be able to take advantage of the rare times when they do want to talk and are open to hearing what you have to say. It's very possible Bristol Palin would have become pregnant if her mom was full time "stay at home". Yet I can't help but wonder if a mom who had fewer distractions would have been able to see some warning sign about Bristol and this boyfriend and said a few words that would have made her daughter a little more cautious. It's a question impossible to answer, as complicated as motherhood these days.

haters

I've been meaning for awhile to write about the shooting in an Unitarian Church in Tennesse by a trucker who "hated the liberal movement". I never figured out what I wanted to say about it until now.

In the past couple of days I've been exploring the world of blogs and social networks. Part of it has been curiosity, part of it an attempt to get the world out about our film. It's hardly news that there are alot of extreme voices out there. Still, it doesn't really sink in until you see it up close and personal. The simplistic generalizations about the "enemy", the level of venom on some sites and groups are shocking.

And yet I still don't believe they represent anything more than a small minority. The vast majority don't have the time or energy to be that angry. And those angry enough to kill are mentally ill. The flames of their illness may have been stoked by angry rhetoric. But I can' believe they are symbolic of the country as a whole. Unfortunately, "if it bleeds it leads", and those drawing blood get the attention.

commentary

I've been trying to get the word out about our film by doing a bit of "social networking" - posting our clips on sites like myspace, facebook and wis.dm in an effort to generate discussion.

Here's one that came up on wis.dm, I'll be commenting a bit more on it later . ..


"I had a very "liberal" professor in college. I was surprised how closed minded he was to new ideas. I found out that liberal ideals are not necessarily "progressive" ideals. I consider myself a very conservative progressive with a hint of libertarianism. I am not sure where that fits into the classic conservative mold. I am a conservative that wants change. A change for more freedom. I feel both parties taking freedoms away.

Palin is . . .

I think McCain's choice for VP is bold and intriguing. I don't know what I think about her yet. And frankly, I think it's a bit too early for anybody else to know what they think about her either. There is such a rush to put this woman into a neat little box and find an appropriate label for her. I know it's a fundamental human strategy to classify and determine whether someone is "friend" or "foe". After all, if our ancestors didn't have this ability, they wouldn't be our ancestors. The media is even saying the crucial thing is who wins the race to define her will determine whether she's an asset or liability. Yet, like every other individual on this planet, she's a complicated person. Can't we give it a little time for all the facts to come out, and to see how she comes across before making these decisions?

of course I should say a few words about the speech

Too many words will be said about the speech last night as it is, so right now I will just add a few comments that relate to our film's theme of moving beyond opposing categories to find common ground. For years I've been waiting for a candidate of any stripe to say something like. . ."we wish to live in a country where few women ever have to get to the point where they must decided upon an abortion. We will do what what it takes to make that as rare as possible. In the meantime, let's keep abortion for those who do choose it safe, legal and available." I thought Obama came the closest to it last night with his comment "we may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies". His remarks on gun control and gay rights were in a similar vein. I hope we will hear similar from McCain.

politics is personal

At my Judo club there is a Sensei from Honduras. He doesn't speak much English. Nonetheless he managed to use a smattering of English, Japanese and gestures to teach techniques we haven't learned from anyone else and make many friends in the process. A while back he brought in his new little baby.

This morning I got an email saying that he had fallen 30 feet on a construction site and was seriously injured. His wife had said that they had both been working day and night in multiple jobs which is why we hadn't seen him for awhile.

It's utterly heartbreaking to think of this happening to such a good person. Richard's first reaction to this story was to say that he wished we were doing things to help people more directly. This family's plight seems far removed from the world of this film.

And yet upon further reflection maybe you can argue it isn't. I can only speculate on many of the details of the story. Yet it doesn't seem to much of a stretch to say that the philosphy of those in charge, and their ability to realize it can greatly affect the lives of people like these. Government policy can affect what kind of health care he will get, whether the family will go into debt trying to pay for it and whether a family with such a young baby needs to be working that hard to get by. These are the real people and the real dramas that lie behind the rhetoric and debate.

Success

Like any filmmaker, artist, or person who makes something, we want the results of our efforts to be a "success". However, "success" can be hard to define, especially for a documentary film. Some people consider festival selection a criteria for success. But with even small rinky dink festivals getting hundreds of entries these days (Silverdocs got over 1700 submissions) it was never a realistic expectation for our earnest little film to stand out among the "edgier", "sexier" stories that most festivals seek.

Others consider numbers of sales as their guage. I've tried to avoid getting obsessed about the rankings on Amazon, but it's hard to resist checking them out sometimes. I've been told they are better than anybody else's documentary in the D-word (my internet documentary forum/community). However, compared to the latest Hollywood blockbuster they will always be miniscule. But I don't believe that a film that sells 500 times as many copies as another is 500 times as successful.

We made this film to encourage people to think about things in a new way. Today I reconnected with an old friend who hasn't seen the movie yet, but did check out the trailers awhile back. She said she and her teenager had learned alot from them. I remember hearing the same thing from a historian who saw our movie at a rough cut screening. I see the postings on Youtube that I quoted the other day. These are just a few examples. I also know that for every person who bothers to comment there are many others who don't take the time, but were none the less affected. So I have faith that we are, and will continue to experience "success" with our little film.

another festival

Just received word that American Feud has been choosen an official selection of the Utopia Film Festival which will run October 24th - October 26th in Greenbelt. More news to follow.

Comments from the youtube trailer

*** Comparing Liberals and conservatives is comparing apples and oranges. Conservatism is a state of mind and way of life. Liberalism is a theory on the relationship between government and governed. Americans are completely unaware that we are all liberals. If you believe in inalienable individual rights to life, property and pursuit of self interests as opposed to a monarchy, feudalism, dictatorship or communism, you are a liberal. Our revolution was founded on liberalism.


*** Republicans are generally Classical Liberals, and Democrats, Social liberals. Some of the views on role of government have change and politicians tend to enact laws/acts that somewhat exacerbate problems they intend to fix, but the bases are still the same. Classical Liberals believe in very small government intervention and free markets. Social Liberals believe in additional rights to health care, education and min. wages. R's and D's just differ on how individual rights are viewed.

***in truth there is no such thing as "liberal" and "conservative". it is the mechanism of a monolithic two-party system to divide society against itself by assigning some values for these guys and some values for those guys. these values change over time and are completly superficial.

Latest news

American Feud was selected as a finalist in the feature documentary section of The Independents Film Festival

http://www.ifftampa.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=46

Thomas Frank

When we interviewed Thomas Frank he was prommoting his book "What's the Matter with Kansas". Now we are promoting our movie and he is promoting his latest book "The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule". So we were encouraged by the fact that it took him as long to write a book as it took us to make our movie.

We saw him interviewed the other day on The Colbert Report. We though he did well by taking the bull by the horns early on with an aggressive statement, something along the lines of "that's bullshit". With that, Colbert could only pull so much of his usual mock bluster.

I haven't read the book, but from what I've heard, it seems to make similar points to the ones Chomsky makes in our film. Although perhaps in a vernacular easier to understand than Chomsky's.

One last word about "Sausage Making"

I said I wouldn't discuss anything more about the nitty gritty of marketing a film. Not to go back on that, but there's a few things I've learned along the way that need to be shared.

The first is that documentary filmmakers are alot like others artists in other media. Very few make any money at it, it's usually more a labor of love. So they need your support. This doesn't necessarily mean a big financial contribution or much effort. First of all, just buy the DVD, album etc. instead of pirating it. It's not really that much money for all the effort that went into it. Trust me on this one. I understand the temptation, I'm a reformed copier myself. But it every little bit helps.

Second, take a few minutes to get the word out. If you like something, write a favorable review on Amazon. Then go to the "Tags Customers Associate with This Product". Check off the tags AND suggest tags to Amazon. Both of these will help others find the film and perhaps buy it. Comment on any blogs you happen to be on and post a link - the more places that link to the artists' site, the better the google ranking will be.

OK, that's enough time on the soapbox. Back to commenting on politics soon.

from the mouths of Governors

I caught the end of an interview with Maryland governor O'Malley today on WAMU's (NPR) Kojo Namdi show. Our governor concluded the show mock scolding one of the reporters questioning him, basically telling him to chill out because "ideology is passe - government can work".

I haven't been his biggest fan as Governor, but I thought that was a wonderful quote.

Back to Blogging

I took a long break from blogging about the film, but not completely from blogging. One of this summer's trips was well documented in my travel blog. But besides several trips, family events and numerous other instances of "life getting in the way" we've still been working on the film. Now that it's complete, the second leg of publicizing it takes place. I've heard more experienced filmmakers say that's as much of a process as making the film in the first place. I won't get into the details of it, since it'll probably be the equivalent of seeing sausage getting made. But suffice to say, it is as challenging as making the film in a different way. There is as much as a learning curve in such skills as search engine optmization, getting on amazon, creating an eblast and viral marketing . as there was in fair use rules, final cut editing software etc.

But enough about that, tomorrow I resolve to write more about the current political climate - and hope to generate some discussion.

the question of bias

One of the perennial debates in documentary filmmaking is over the question of bias. Everybody has their biases, do you seek to conceal them or be up front about them?

Our goal was making a film that was truly non-partisan. Part of this is practical - as a member of the media Richard shouldn't display any preferences. We also wanted to make something that could reach people of all persuasions, to go beyond the usual "preaching to the already converted" rants we've seen too much of. We've seen blind spots in the thinking of both our conservative and liberal friends and family members.

I can sincerely say we did our best to be fair. There were a few clips that are in the film solely due to the desire to be balanced. However, the vast majority of shots, no matter where in the political spectrum they fall, were put in the film because we honestly thought they were thought provoking and worth mulling over.

We haven't heard from all the interview subjects yet. A big cheer for Howard Zinn for being the first to respond. His response was positive, as was "moderate" David Stoesz, "conservative" Mona Charen and "progressive Michael Kazin.

I bring this up because Richard and I had a disagreement over mentioning the fact that I produced an anti-Bush PSA in the "filmmakers" section of our website. Even if this information wasn't easily obtainable by googling me, I feel it would be dishonest to hide it. However, I don't think this prevents me from being unbiased - like many Americans my beliefs don't fall into a tidy category. I am a fiscal conservative who loathes the budget deficit this country has run up. As a mother I dislike many things in the vulgar things in the culture these days. I've been disrespected countless times for staying home to raise children. I also dislike being called by my first name by strangers and children. An exasperating dispute with the IRS has made me loathe its bureaucratic intractability, and question my believe in the power of government.

I appreciate deeply all those who trusted us in sharing their opinions for the movie. I think we've tried our best to treat every one with respect.

What’s the deal with the monkey face anyway?

There are a number of reasons I have the for giving myself the appellation “simonesimian”.

First of all I had a very dear buddy who had the audacity to go and get a fatal brain tumor when we had many more decades to go on our family strong friendship. “Simian” was his nickname for me, pretty much the only nickname I’ve ever had except for my father calling me “seem” sometimes.

In America the name “Simone” is uncommon except in the African American community. (an African American has never called me “Simon”, a frequent occurrence with others). For some it carries hoity-toity connotations. It amuses me to undercut them by adding simian to it.

I was raised in a pretty sedate household with only one younger sister. So there was definitely a learning curve to becoming the mother of 2 boys. Their behavior has inspired me to refer to them as “little monkeys” on numerous occasions.

In a book about festivals one recommendation was to distinguish yourself somehow - bright shirt, funny hat etc. Some people find the monkey face amusing, others just “weird”. Whatever the reaction, it does stand out.

Lastly, I regularly practice in Anusara Yoga. This type of yoga is particularly focused on posture and alignment - an area where my body has undergone much needed improvement. Over time you develop the awareness to retrain your body out of its bad habits such as slouching and hunching your shoulders.. These tendencies worsen over time with most people. When I see a woman from a distance I can often get an accurate sense of her age just based on how she carries herself. It’s almost as if our bodies are trying to revert to our simian origins and its our continual struggle to counteract this. And the battle between our human and animal nature is played out in too many ways to be dealt with in this blog!

MORE IMPRESSIONS FROM “AMERICA’S COUNTY”

As we waited for our food at the Italian Oven, I tried to get a sense of how various family members perceived the presidential candidates. As I’ve implied previously, the demographics of Somerset county don’t reflect America as a whole. But they do reflect a segment that feels and votes quite differently from “The People’s Republic of Maryland” from which I hail. So I don’t argue or debate anymore, I just listen to get a sense of how they feel.

Nobody supports Senator Obama, the “experience” issue is a real deal breaker for those who have thought much about him.

For one middle aged female the fact that Senator Clinton had taken her husband back after how he treated her was a terrible example for young woman and thus disqualified her.

A not quite 40 year old female in the party felt the fact that Senator Clinton was female counted strongly in her favor (she had voted Republican previously).

A female college student with a boyfriend in Iraq supports John McCain, because she identifies as Republican and for his military experience.

And my mother-in-law genuinely likes President Bush as much as ever.

THE RETURN OF THE L-WORD

From today’s Washington Post, news that both McCain and Clinton are using the term “liberal” in a pejorative way against Senator Obama.


In Obama's New Message, Some Foes See Old Liberalism

By Alec MacGillis
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 26, 2008; Page A01

“ . . . Sen. John McCain and other Republicans have already started to brand him a standard-order left-winger, "a down-the-line liberal," as McCain strategist Charles R. Black Jr. put it, in a long line of Democratic White House hopefuls.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign has also started slapping the L-word on Obama, warning that his appeal among moderate voters will diminish as they become more aware of liberal positions he took in the past, such as calling for single-payer health care and an end to the U.S. embargo against Cuba. . . .”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/25/AR2008032503082.html

“AMERICA’S COUNTY” endures THE DEFEAT OF FREEDOM

Our director Richard Hall hails from Somerset, Pennsylvania which is located in the Southwestern corner of the state. Americans became more familiar with the area after 9/11, as it’s the area where the “plane came down”, and also where the trapped coal miners were rescued. It calls itself “America’s County”, although demographically the area is 97.39% White (according to Wikipedia). Also, it has only voted for a Democratic presidential candidate once in the past hundred years.

One of the area’s dining establishments is called “The Italian Oven”. When we were last there the menu featured “Freedom Fries”. We went back last weekend for my sister-in-law’s birthday “French fries” had made their return.

Sign of the times perhaps?

PRODUCTION UPDATE 4, THE DIRECTOR SPEAKS

From Richard, the Director/Editor:

I am working on improving the advance review copy of our DVD so that it will smoothly play in older and/or most DVD players. Some people have had trouble with our DVD. Using Studio Pro I am limiting maximum MBPS to 6.4 (no-I don't really understand what that means). I learned this from the technical specs. on "CreatSpace" a self-distribution company. The way things are changing and "improving" in the world it's hard not to learn something new everyday. When I first opened DVD Studio Pro I was overwhelmed by the complexity of the interface and the seemingly boundless options. A month later I can almost navigate my way from A to Z without losing my marbles.

PRODUCTION UPDATE 3

In the next few days we will create a commentary track as a DVD extra. There has been some debate about how useful it is to do this. Chris Gore’s DVD book says it is mandatory for true film nerds. Personally I rarely ever have time to listen to them, and the times I have they were often tedious monologues. . I asked on my documentary forum and responses were mixed. But there was enough people who said they enjoy and appreciate them that I figure we might as well, since there will be space on the disk.

PRODUCTION UPDATE 2

Right now, when you google “American Feud” you get a bunch of hits about the Hatifields and the McCoys, with our Youtube trailer being tenth. One of the things you are supposed to do to change this is join “social networking sites”. We’ve been on MySpace for awhile, that apparently hasn’t helped. (albeit with the old littlebig website). But today I went ahead and gave it a FaceBook page, which you can do for films as well. The whole thing seems silly in some ways, but I suppose it doesn’t hurt. I’m still surprised (and encouraged) that people have found us with no publicity at all. I think it’s because of Noam Chomsky’s participation - believe it or not, the man has a real fan base.

production update 1

Recently, I’ve been trying to focus on this website. One thing I’ve realized is how this project has continued to add to the list of things I know just barely enough about. Soon I can add website creation and search engine optimization to the list. My cyber friends on the D-word documentary forum have been ever so helpful. In addition a stranger (a Katie Alender) I found while googling for a problem I was having with Iweb software gave me the solution I couldn’t find elsewhere. I never ceased to be amazed at how the internet has facilitated “the kindness of strangers”. Honestly, I’d give up chocolate and a bunch of others things before I’d give up my lifeline to the world!

Richard has been more focused on continuing the final “polishing” of the DVD and seeking endorsements. He’ll post soon.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the blog for American Feud, our political documentary about the history of Liberalism and Conservatism in the US. If you are reading this directly from blogger you can go to www.AmericanFeud.org for more info.


Now, because she's my mother (and our biggest fan) She gets the first words . . ..

Richard, Simone - I think that the reference to "pragmatism" in your film is important and relevant to the political situation you describe. It
 could be a way out of our divisions and "feud."
 
It seems to me that the "point" of your documentary is, as you stated yourselves, "to invite the audience to reconsider the ideas that divide us and imagine a new future beyond Liberalism and Conservatism."
 
The main difficulties that I see for the acceptance of the ideas of the New-Pragmatists is  that  (1) those ideas are not well known, and  (2) pragmatism has not defined, I think,  what moral criteria we should consider for our actions. (Maybe "radical pragmatism" has?) 
 
The social democracies of the European Union have agreed on a set of common principles,  not only  the basic democratic values, but also solidarity, social justice, sustainable development for all, peace, etc. 
 
There has been an intellectual dialogue between some American New-Pragmatists (Richard Rorty and others)  and some post-  modern continental philosophers (Gianni Vattimo and others). And there is a convergence of ideas.
 
The long cultural, religious,  and political evolution of Western Europe has led us to what Europeans call "the secularization of the Christian message", that is the Gospel message of love your neighbor, help the poor, etc.. is now "incarnated" i.e. "secularized" into civil society and governmental policy. This "secularization" can be compared to Protestantism which became "incarnated" in the U.S society.  The Protestant ethic of individual conscience and responsibility, sense of self-reliance,  hard work, and frugal life encouraging saving has been "secularized"  into the American capitalist system.
 
For the American philosopher Richard Rorty, the decisive event in the process of this secularisation of Christianity in Western Europe "occurred when the French Revolution coincided with the Romantic movement.  The intellectuals began talking about the power of the human imagination, at the same time that Christian charity changed into Liberty, Equality, Fraternity."
 
For Christian believers,  of course it occurred at the birth of Christ when the divine message of love became incarnated in our world.
 
We have witnessed the convergence of anglo-american pragmatism and European secularized Christianity during the French electoral campaign.  Like many others, I was undecided on my choice of a candidate, because I really wanted to keep our principle of fraternity, but at the same time use more pragmatic methods than the left offered for achieving solidarity, a better life for all, and the protection of the environment. 
 
The centrist candidate who came third  in the first round of the elections said that he wanted to look left and right and cross borders between the political parties. Though he lost, he claimed that he "changed the political landscape."  I think he is right.  The first gestures of Sarkozy give me hope that it is indeed happening.  First, the President-elect met for consultations with members of Parliament, not only from his party but from other political parties; he had a meeting/dialogue with the representatives of labor and trade unions, and committed to regular consultations with them; As president, he named two socialists to be ministers, one of them for Minister of Foreign Affairs (Bernard Kouchner, the founder of "Doctors without Borders"), and one from the centrist party; there are 7 women in his cabinet of 15; the minister of Justice is the daughter of North African immigrants.
 
Maybe a symbol of this convergence of action and values toward a goal which is in accord with our cultural heritage is the new name given to a ministry, heretofore know as "Ministry of Social Affairs,"  and now called "Ministry of Active Solidarity against Poverty."