This is a true story. On Saturday night of Christmas weekend, we were at Sag Harbor with my cousin, Narmeen. She was sleeping downstairs on the couch, and we were in the upstairs bedroom. At around 3am, I heard Narmeen clomping up the stairs. She opened the attic door across the hall and then opened the bedroom door. I looked up and asked her what she needed. She said, “Is this the Mayer’s?” I was confused and asked her in Bengali what she wanted. She responded again with the same question. At this point I realized this was not my cousin!
A random stranger had walked into the house in the middle of the night through the unlocked, front door, and was stomping around asking for the Mayers. At first, I was confused and terrified. It is frightening to have someone you don’t know standing at your bedroom door. As she went back down the stairs, I put on clothes, woke Klaus and went down after her. She was at the front vestibule – a five-foot one-inch twenty-something, with pretty blond curls, a blackberry, a dazed look and fur-collared coat. I tremulously told her she had scared us, and asked what she was doing here. Her response was vacant (almost impolite). “Is this the Mayers?” she repeated. “I think you have the wrong house”. “Oh,” she said, “it must be the next house down”. She opened the door, drunkenly stumbled on the steps, and then walked off into the darkness, with me calling behind her, “Will you be OK?” No response.
I have been mulling the circumstances of that night over the past few days. Although she was an intruder and could have been dangerous, in retrospect she was just lost. Should I have offered more assistance? Should I be worried that she will return another night? Were there others with her staking out the house? The situation reminded me of our troops in Afghanistan. As we increase the number of soldiers to win the hearts and minds of the Afghani people by stomping around their homeland, are we succeeding in our mission?
James Cameron’s Avatar presents an analogous set of circumstances. A group of ex-Army soldiers working for a multi-galaxy conglomerate are recovering natural resources from the distant planet of Pandora. To ally with the indigenous population, the Na’vi, the company has hired scientists to set-up schools and learn their ways. To interact with the Na’vi, the humanistic team develops DNA replicas of the blue, 9-foot tall Na’vi. Humans interact through these avatars by digitally sending brain impulses into the clones. The ingenious method works, and select individuals are able to observe, relate and experience the Na’vi world. Unfortunately, diplomacy gives way to aggression as the corporate leaders have little tolerance for patient progress.
Cameron set out to create the greatest movie ever made. It many ways it is hard to argue with his ambition – he has achieved it. This is momentous film-making, an immersion into a bio-luminescent world strained by the onslaught of foreign forces. In 3D IMAX, the film envelopes the viewer in the world of Pandora – only smell and taste are missing. The movie’s hero views Eden anew through his avatar and discerns a connection to this world truer than to his own. Only by literally seeing through the eyes of the enemy, does he comprehend all that he has not observed before. Cameron’s gift to the audience is to bring us on this wondrous journey as well. Film-making has changed forever.
The new Clint Eastwood movie, Invictus, stars Morgan Freeman as a reincarnation of Nelson Mandela. Relating the tale of the 1995 Rugby World Cup when South Africa hosted and against all odds won the games, the story traces Mandela’s efforts to use the games as a means of unifying a post-apartheid country. Traditionally a sport supported by white Afrikaners, the President partners with the team captain Francois Piennar to encourage the players to represent the entire country and not just the white minority. Matt Damon in a slight turn from Bourne, assumes Piennar’s avatar with vigor adopting a hefty rugby frame and blond hair.
The movie is timed to be another Eastwood holiday, Oscars grab – similar to Gran Torino, Million Dollar Baby and Letters from Iwo Jima in years past. The story is grand – a great leader cajoling racial acceptance through positive reinforcement, kindness and sheer charisma. Mandela proves astute political maneuvering by refusing to change the name and colors of the national rugby team despite the request of the Black majority. He recognizes that this alteration will only play further into the fears of the white minority. The gamble pays off; the Green & Gold’s are embraced by the nation as they ascend to World Cup victory. While the final win of the South African team is thrilling, the movie falters short of the goal line because the transformation from racism to pluralism occurs too easily. Even the doppelganger performance by Morgan Freeman, can’t free the film from a sense that the triumph of the team is not truly earned.
To win hearts and minds, the gesture needs to be mutual. We as Americans have an obligation to help Afghanistan, and the people need to be open to the support. Stalwart, Afrikaners did not necessarily want a Black-African run government, but the fact that they stayed in South Africa – rather than leaving for another country – showed a willingness to try. In the Na’vi world, top warriors ride on dragon-like creatures which they must tame and then partner for life. The taming requires the warrior to recognize the dragon partner, and the partner to agree to be ridden. Each wins the heart of the other.
In Afghanistan, we are increasing troops to stabilize the government and train the domestic security officers. But in the end do they really want this? The schools we are building are undoubtedly appreciated by the villagers, but does the Afghani government place value on them? Does our constant bombing in the countryside bring more comfort or fear to the residents when they hear these sounds in the middle of the night. Not having been there, I have no easy answers. But, until Karzai’s government is willing to walk in the shoes of American soldiers, and see the world through an Afghan villager’s eyes, it seems unlikely we can be successful in our mission.
Similar to my late-night visitor, I can offer my help and try to make her more comfortable and at ease. But if she herself is either too bewildered or drugged to accept the offer, then how much longer does the obligation last? For Afghanistan, President Obama has declared June 2010. This seems a reasonable timeline to end a war that we started almost a decade ago.
In the case of my unintentional guest, after we went back upstairs, ten minutes later we saw her from the bedroom window, sitting on the deck chairs and circling the house with her cell phone on. Later there is a knock at the door, and by the time we get downstairs to open it, she is gone. We didn’t hear from her again.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Some thoughts on… Losing Cachet
With the year almost complete, questions are being raised on Barack Obama’s effectiveness as a President. His poll numbers have come down from their sky-high start at the beginning of the year, and many say that his aspiring claims for change have crashed on the hard ground of political reality.
With a continuing the war in Afghanistan compounded by the elusiveness of Al-Qaeda; the domestic unemployment rate at an all time high; and belligerent negotiations with Iran over nuclear-arms control resulting in stalemate, has Obama lost some of his lofty stature and his purpose?
Tiger Woods, a mixed-race American with Black descent, has reached the pinnacle of his chosen career. His young age, boyish-good looks, and phenom golfing ability propelled him to the top of a sport that historically was a bastion for white middle-aged men. The endorsements came a-calling – Cadillac, Gatorade, Accenture. Want to be a success? Be like Tiger. His fall from grace due to marital indiscretions came even more rapidly.
The personal circumstances of his private life are irrelevant; those are his burden to bear not ours to judge. But was his Icarus-like fall due to the fact that he soared too close to the sun? Did his actions essentially bite the commercial hand that feeds him? To the extent that Tiger was representing an upright, moral, and disciplined person one could argue that his actions tarnished this image. But that’s not what he was portraying – most of his advertisements expatiated his remarkable ability to play golf. That talent has not dissipated. The company endorsements that relied on depicting a perfect man may be taken away, yet we should still admire his skills on the course for what they are – this is essentially what Tiger is staying true to. He will be ascendant again soon.
Ivan Reitman’s new movie, Up in the Air, flies at many different altitudes. At its heart, it is the story of man determining what is important in life. George Clooney plays the wandering soul, Ryan Bingham, to Oscar-winning affection. Ryan’s goal is to achieve ten-million mile status on American Airlines. His pursuit of this goal overshadows any other meaningful relationship – spouse, employment, children, home. His family is the airlines, and he is happiest when flying. As the movie tagline claims it’s “the story of a man ready to make a connection”.
Ryan’s loss of elevation is precipitated by work circumstances that ground him before achieving his goal. He is forced to deal with terrestrial matters that are much stickier than cleanly flying off to a new destination. An aerial life is impossible if you carry too much weight, and he reluctantly discovers that by keeping his head in the clouds, he has lost opportunities to acquire any baggage – maintaining a friendship with his younger sister, choosing a travelling companion to share his daily journey. We may see Ryan’s compulsive flying as a distraction or escape, and yet for him it is reality; the most important objective in his life. We can not fault Ryan’s choice to stay aloft; he recognizes that this decision comes at the price of Earthly gains.
Obama started the year flying high and has naturally faced turbulence. But his cachet has not plummeted for two reasons: he is not biting the hand that feeds him and he is staying true to his principles. He is tackling the weighty issues of his office instead of whisking himself away from conflict by keeping his head in idealistic clouds.
Listing out the accomplishments so far is impressive: wrangling landmark legislation on Health Care, negotiating targets on climate change, selecting an outstanding Supreme Court justice, winning a Nobel Prize, and placing the US back in the center of world politics.
Perhaps it is liberal guilt that we feel a need to provide an unbiased judgment on Obama’s performance for the year. Yet, I don’t remember any year of accomplishment in the past 8 of the previous administration that have been this impressive. The President may have lost some cachet after the election but he is definitely not losing acceleration.
December 23, 2009
With a continuing the war in Afghanistan compounded by the elusiveness of Al-Qaeda; the domestic unemployment rate at an all time high; and belligerent negotiations with Iran over nuclear-arms control resulting in stalemate, has Obama lost some of his lofty stature and his purpose?
Tiger Woods, a mixed-race American with Black descent, has reached the pinnacle of his chosen career. His young age, boyish-good looks, and phenom golfing ability propelled him to the top of a sport that historically was a bastion for white middle-aged men. The endorsements came a-calling – Cadillac, Gatorade, Accenture. Want to be a success? Be like Tiger. His fall from grace due to marital indiscretions came even more rapidly.
The personal circumstances of his private life are irrelevant; those are his burden to bear not ours to judge. But was his Icarus-like fall due to the fact that he soared too close to the sun? Did his actions essentially bite the commercial hand that feeds him? To the extent that Tiger was representing an upright, moral, and disciplined person one could argue that his actions tarnished this image. But that’s not what he was portraying – most of his advertisements expatiated his remarkable ability to play golf. That talent has not dissipated. The company endorsements that relied on depicting a perfect man may be taken away, yet we should still admire his skills on the course for what they are – this is essentially what Tiger is staying true to. He will be ascendant again soon.
Ivan Reitman’s new movie, Up in the Air, flies at many different altitudes. At its heart, it is the story of man determining what is important in life. George Clooney plays the wandering soul, Ryan Bingham, to Oscar-winning affection. Ryan’s goal is to achieve ten-million mile status on American Airlines. His pursuit of this goal overshadows any other meaningful relationship – spouse, employment, children, home. His family is the airlines, and he is happiest when flying. As the movie tagline claims it’s “the story of a man ready to make a connection”.
Ryan’s loss of elevation is precipitated by work circumstances that ground him before achieving his goal. He is forced to deal with terrestrial matters that are much stickier than cleanly flying off to a new destination. An aerial life is impossible if you carry too much weight, and he reluctantly discovers that by keeping his head in the clouds, he has lost opportunities to acquire any baggage – maintaining a friendship with his younger sister, choosing a travelling companion to share his daily journey. We may see Ryan’s compulsive flying as a distraction or escape, and yet for him it is reality; the most important objective in his life. We can not fault Ryan’s choice to stay aloft; he recognizes that this decision comes at the price of Earthly gains.
Obama started the year flying high and has naturally faced turbulence. But his cachet has not plummeted for two reasons: he is not biting the hand that feeds him and he is staying true to his principles. He is tackling the weighty issues of his office instead of whisking himself away from conflict by keeping his head in idealistic clouds.
Listing out the accomplishments so far is impressive: wrangling landmark legislation on Health Care, negotiating targets on climate change, selecting an outstanding Supreme Court justice, winning a Nobel Prize, and placing the US back in the center of world politics.
Perhaps it is liberal guilt that we feel a need to provide an unbiased judgment on Obama’s performance for the year. Yet, I don’t remember any year of accomplishment in the past 8 of the previous administration that have been this impressive. The President may have lost some cachet after the election but he is definitely not losing acceleration.
December 23, 2009
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