Amy and I just finished watching Good Night, and Good Luck. Wow!
We both sort of knew the story of Ed Murrow taking on U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy during McCarthy’s anti-Communist crusade while chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The movie has motivated me to Kindle a Murrow biography and read it.
The movie was fantastic – Amy and I kept shouting at the TV during it which is always the mark of a successful movie in our house. David Strathairn was incredible as Murrow and George Clooney did a great job as his counterpart / coproducer Fred Friendly.
One of the awesome things about the United States is that due process matters. Another is that freedom of speech is a valid construct – and even more so in today’s web saturated universe. So far in my 42 years on this planet I’ve never been afraid of speaking my mind. I’ve often been wrong – and will admit it publicly whenever I am – but I love the fact that I can state my thoughts without fear.
As the midgame of our presidential election reaches a climax, this is powerful stuff to consider. Marc Andreessen wrote a superb post last week titled An hour and a half with Barack Obama. I’ve been supporting Obama in the primaries (even though I’m Independent – my party affiliation is "unaffiliated".) Marc’s post totally nails why I’m supporting Obama. Regardless of who you support, it feels great that it’s acceptable in this country to write (and watch) what we think.
To Mark Cuban, Todd Wagner, and Jeff Skoll and their respective colleagues who produced the movie – nicely done!