In an unprecedented move (to un-president the current one), I became an activist - I attended the SF Women's March. I have been so inspired reading about all my family and friends who have attended the event in DC and in their own cities around the world. I'm really glad I did this. Not only did I feel part of a very important movement but it made me think on why I was marching.
I'm not happy with the state of our government right now and I continue to get more agitated and scared as each page on the white house website gets deleted and each time we are presented with our new, bizarre-o gas-lighting reality (alternate facts, anyone?). So that's one reason I marched.
I also marched for all the wonderful women in my life. From my littlest grand-niece (and the two on the way!!) to my mother's sister, I march for and with them. I couldn't help but think about my aunt, who I have written about before. She never married; she worked in a man's world. She didn't let any bullshit stop her, even though the bullshit was strong in her time. She had great jobs, lived in Greece for many years and lived her life on her own terms. I chatted with her the Sunday after the march and, interestingly, she doesn't really see herself as any kind of pioneer. She just thinks she lived her life the way she wanted. I understand that she made her way within the confines of her era and I love her spirit; I always strive to emulate it.
So I walked. Thankfully, it was truly a peaceful demonstration. I was worried about this. Not about the marchers, mind you, but about anyone who might not agree with why we were marching. When I was in college, my dormitory got teargassed (it was a prank) and honestly, I think I have a little teargas PTSD. It was a horrible experience; one I would never want to live through again. So I thought about exit strategies and my group all kept eyes on each other the whole time. We were a good team.
Even though the bullshit continues, I was honored to march in the pouring rain with so many likeminded people. And, sure the rain was cold and uncomfortable, but being an activist shouldn't be comfortable, should it?
All the President's Men - released in 1976
This movie has been rattling around in my brain from the moment the Cheeto started braying about "fake news" and keeping certain news agencies out of press conferences, etc.
I was probably 11 or 12 years old when I read this book. I remember the Watergate scandal
occurred when I was about 9 and I was (oddly for me, honestly) fascinated by it. I probably just thought of it as a weird conspiracy, but having a president resign because he was a minute away from being impeached was a big deal even for a non-political kid. And considering it was barely a decade after Kennedy was assassinated, I can't even imagine how uneasy the political climate must have been.
Woodward and Bernstein were like heroes to me. The movie came out when I was about 13 and that year my friend Sharon and I dressed as the reporters for Halloween (she is blonde so she got to be Woodward, I was Bernstein). We just wore jeans and maybe button down shirts and carried notepads and pencils around with us. We also made press badges out of our junior high school ID cards. I wish I had some photos of those costumes. We were clearly a little obsessed.
The film is directed by Alan J Pakula (Sophie's Choice) and the screenplay is written by the amazing William Goldman (who wrote the actual Princess Bride book!). It's SO 70s in it's style but a few things stood out to me. One of the first things we see in the film are full screen letters being typed onto a page (the date, June 1, 1972) and the sound of the typewriter is extremely loud. Definitely setting the expectation of what is important to this story. The film ends with the television showing Nixon being sworn in for his second term in office and Woodward and Bernstein in the background typing the story that will bring him down. It's beautifully filmed.
The premise of the book and this film - that the press, at risk of their own safety, will do whatever it takes to ferret out a story like this amidst everyone from the top down trying to stop them - is as timely as it is riveting. There is an amazing line delivered by Jason Robards playing Washington Post executive editor, Ben Bradlee. The boys are just about to go to press with the nail in Halderman's coffin (which is the start of the house of cards crumbling - and yes, that will be my last metaphor for this sentence). He says, "Nothing's riding on this but the first amendment of the constitution - freedom of the press - and maybe the future of the country". No shit, Ben. No shit.
(My drink pairing for this film is a Manhattan. Big in the 70s, plus we are gonna need good stiff drinks for the next four years.)
My takeaways:
#1 - Sometimes I surprise myself with what I read as a kid.
#2 - I've been re-reading the Potter books the last few weeks and am horrified/fascinated at the similarities of the politics in the books and in our reality. I'm currently reading Order of the Phoenix and Hermione reminds Harry and Ron that Dumbledore told them "we are as strong as we are united and as weak as we are divided. Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust."
#3 - Maybe I'm like the Benjamin Button of reading. All the President's Men when I was 9 and the Potter series in my 40s!
Here's to you, my friends! Fight the good fight.
xoxo...hashtagSueslife
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