Monday, July 6, 2009

Never too late to get involved!

My sister Donna was here yesterday for our post-July 4 barbecue with - get this! - healthy hot dogs from Whole Foods. We were talking about my interest in the daily news and about politics.

"You were never interested in politics before," said Donna.

"You're right," I said. "I was too busy working and keeping my manic depression under control. I had no extra energy for anything else."

Growing up, we were not a family that talked politics at the kitchen table. Neither did our family dig sports yet as a teenager I became an ardent fan of the Cleveland Indians, our home team. Our family had the freedom to pursue our own interests.

Today when Scott and I go on vacation I can't bear not knowing what's going on in the world. Walking along the boardwalk I peered intently into the newspaper machines to read headlines. I feel cut off from the world when I'm on vacation!

Tonite on the PBS Nightly News I sat entranced watching Obama speak forcefully with Russian President Medvedev. He comported himself beautifully in that elaborate gilded conference room. I was so proud of him.

When people ask me, When is the Compass coming out (my mental health magazine) I say, As soon as I finish it. It won't be for awhile yet but Obama will still be in his first year.

The second news story was the death of 93-year-old Robert S McNamera, one of the 'architects of the Vietnam War.' One of the people they interviewed about his death was Errol Morris who filmed an award-winning documentary of McNamera in 2004. Roger Ebert called it one of the top documentaries ever made.

Out of curiosity, I goggled the name tonite - The Fog of War - and lo! The entire 90-minute film can be viewed online. Looky here. As the pundit Malcolm Gladwell noted in his most recent New Yorker column, Information is FREE!

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