One Bright Shining Moment

[Protagoras]

I just finished watching this amazing documentary http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468528/

It's a 10 out of 10 star documentary.

And while there are dozens of fantastic documentaries I suggest to people, I really mean this when I say "THIS is THE documentary everyone on DU should watch."

It's about the George McGovern campaign in 1972 and a good bit of the history surrounding the events of that era. But it's about a lot more than that. It is about the prescience that McGovern had regarding the Vietnam war. It is about the birth of the Neconservative movement. It is about the redefinition of the Democratic Party.

One cannot watch it without continually saying "WAIT THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT IS GOING ON TODAY".

We've learned nothing in the last 30 years. What is more shattering though is that we had the message laid out on a silver plater for us and we FORGOT IT.

Now many of you may be old enough to remember the events directly and I'd love to hear your opinions about it. For you this might be a good refresher. On the other hand for those of us under 45 this is a fantastic history lesson about how much the story has been spun and twisted since Nixon to re-write the events around McGovern and the fight against the Vietnam war, the fight for healthcare and education, and the debt drain on our nation caused by war (amazingly the exactly same issues as today).

From McGovern's (mostly missed) 1972 acceptance speech
Yet I believe that every man and woman in this Convention Hall knows that for 30 years we have been so absorbed with fear and danger from abroad that we have permitted our own house to fall into disarray.

We must now show that peace and prosperity can exist side by side. Indeed, each now depends on the existence of the other. National strength includes the credibility of our system in the eyes of our own people as well as the credibility of our deterrent in the eyes of others abroad.

National security includes schools for our children as well as silos for our missiles.

It includes the health of our families as much as the size of our bombs, the safety of our streets, and the condition of our cities, and not just the engines of war.

If we some day choke on the pollution of our own air, there will be little consolation in leaving behind a dying continent ringed with steel.

So while protecting ourselves abroad, let us form a more perfect union here at home. And this is the time for that task...

we have forgotten history and so we truly are repeating it.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

1. history cycles. cause and effect.

take it back further. compare the fall of Rome to America today. Short, mild cycles, and long, dark cycles.
:scared:



sorry. reading Morris Berman, and he's freaking me out.

that said, I'm looking forward to the replies. you've asked great questions.

[angstlessk]

2. What a freak..what kind of society would we have today had HE won?

Peace and prosperity indeed..education AND silos...who does he think he is? JFK?

No Halliburton? No wars in the Middle East? No RICH REPUBLICANS? What kind of world would THAT be? Not to be ridiculous, but I sure would have liked to have seen..I was old enough to vote...but too stupid and did not. I am ashamed now!

Edit: forgot to recommend...

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. Don't forget McGovern kicked Eagleton off the ticket

because he had a history of depression. This was the first prez election I was old enough to vote in and I am still proud to say I did NOT vote for McGovern. I wrote in Pat Paulsen. Kicking Eagleton off the ticket may very well have lost McGovern the presidency. It was wrong then and I would like to believe it would NEVER happen today. McGovern was a great candidate until he got rid of Eagleton. That was wrong on so many levels.

[annabanana]

6. Yes it was wrong... No, it wouldn't have changed the outcome...

(Don't blame me, I'm from Massachusetts..)

[Protagoras]

7. Actually the documentary directly addressed that

and if you haven't seen it I suggest you check it out and let us know if it changes your perspective at all. McGovern does address the decision and how it was a no win one. Gary Hart was his campaign manager at the time and he talks about it as well.

It's notable that they don't blame Eagleton for destroying the campaign, but rather their own inexperience in that type of politics. However it's obvious that he did nothing to help. I work in mental health and am well aware of the bias that exists around it today and can well imagine the shattering impact of that kind of revelation in 1972 so I can respect that it was a no-win situation where real politics would ultimately require a major candidate to make the decision McGovern did. That doesn't mean it was the morally correct decision but it may have been the politcally best decision at the time. I wasn't mature enough to be aware of how it all went down so it's all second hand to me. But I do appreciate the first hand prespectives.

Another issue that McGovern talked about that I found VERY interesting btw was that he voted FOR the Gulf of Tonken resolution giving LBJ an essentially blank check for Vietnam...so much like Iraq it's freaky. And he stated clearly it was the vote he most regretted in his entire life. Maybe we can take that as a measure of something going forward with our current crop of candidates.

For me this documentary wasn't so much about McGovern the man as it was about a whole Path Not Taken for our nation. McGovern was the one semi-viable alternative to fear and hatred and violence that we had on our plate. And in the end we didn't choose it. And we've continued to not chose it for the last 30 years despite having the giant neon sign hanging over our heads.

BTW I got the movie off my recommended list at Netflix, hadn't heard of it before...I'll be sending it back today so I know it'll be available for someone out there on the west coast :D

[struggle4progress]

13. Eagleton should have disclosed his medical history to McGovern:

McGovern would have lost votes if he'd kept Eagleton on the ticket, too.

And .. uh .. Paulsen ran in '68 .. but .. you didn't get around to voting for him until '72? I hope you apologized to Pat: your procrastination may have cost him the election ... :D

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. He ran every 4 years until he died

http://imdb.com/name/nm0667323/bio

[struggle4progress]

16. I'd completely forgotten his 72 NH Republican primary bid. I wonder

if Pat felt guilty about the possibility he had handed Nixon his 68 victory by taking votes away from Humphrey. America is certainly the poorer without his contribution to our Kulturkampf ("I've upped my standards. Now, up yours").

[Cerridwen]

4. K & R for you.

I thought this was a great video.

I followed it up by reading "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn. It discusses much of the history of the establishment Democrats and their hold on the party which you can see in "One Bright Shining Moment."

[Protagoras]

9. It really is amazing when you see how Mayor Daley

and Hubert Humphrey, etc. (though Humphrey seems to be somewhat split at times in the documentary) defined back room politics and big money interests for the Democrats at the time. After the 1968 convention it's hard to tell them apart from the Nixion crowd. Their willingness to split or even kill the party to keep minorities and progressives from gaining power is stunning...especially when you parallel it with certain movements in our own party today.

McGovern wasn't just running against the Republicans. He was running against the power entrenched in his own party. That is what really makes that movement so impressive. His efforts (and the efforts of the millions who supported him) did change so many things. He didn't win the presidency, but he did do a lot to help redefine the democratic party and give it some hope for a different kind of future. Now it's our job to give some new life to that kind of hope.

[Cerridwen]

10. It looks so familiar, doesn't it?

Yet another version of the people versus the rulers.

*sigh*

[hedgehog]

5. Now I'm wondering what would have happened if bloggers had been

around then. You can't imagine how much the MSM controlled the conversation and how thoroughly McGovern was trashed. It also shows how important it is to take care selecting a vice-presidential candidate. No one would have trusted Eagleton in 1968 although he was clearly more sane than Johnson or Nixon. People just didn't talk about mental illness the way they do today.

[Cerridwen]

8. I forgot to ask...

did you watch all the "Special Features" on the DVD? If not, I highly recommend you do.

There are some statements in there that are more enlightening than even the main story.

[Protagoras]

11. doh, no not yet but

I missed the saturday mail so I'll check it out tomorrow before I send it back monday morning. Thanks for the tip. Sometimes I forget about those little DVD extras.

[Cerridwen]

12. Whew, glad I said something.

I think you'll find some interesting information there.

:hi:

[Protagoras]

17. Indeed you were right

watched it last night and the Vietnam Storyteller and the interview with Amy Goodman were both very interesting and powerful. Would have been a shame to miss them. Thanks!

[cosmicdot]

14. K&R

thank you for bringing this documentary to our attention

[Protagoras]

18. Thanks, one shameless tuesday bump

to spread just a bit more of the word about the flick. It is back at Netflix now and I hope another DUer picks it up.