general conditions.

‘…We sure used to be. We stood up for what was right! We fought for moral reasons, we passed and struck down laws for moral reasons. We waged wars on poverty, not poor people. We sacrificed, we cared about our neighbors, we put our money where our mouths were, and we never beat our chest. We built great big things, made ungodly technological advances, explored the universe, cured diseases, and cultivated the world’s greatest artists and the world’s greatest economy. We reached for the stars, and we acted like men. We aspired to intelligence; we didn’t belittle it; it didn’t make us feel inferior. We didn’t identify ourselves by who we voted for in the last election, and we didn’t scare so easy. And we were able to be all these things and do all these things because we were informed. By great men, men who were revered. The first step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one—America is not the greatest country in the world anymore.’ – The Newsroom, opening monologue

This Aron Sorkin script from “the Newsroom’ made me think of the Robert Kennedy eulogy by Ted Kennedy.

This was from the Maysles Brothers film ‘Gimme Shelter.’ It’s certainly a classic rock film — it is extremely well shot and edited — so it sort of transcends that genre. This film surpassed trad rock films by giving you the end of the film at the beginning — the deaths at Altamont Speedway. Normally, a film editor will tell you that anytime the end of the film is shown at the beginning — the filmmakers are trying to ‘pump’ the film. But in this case and others, notably, Michael Clayton — this device works quite well.

Stay loose.