A hunger for freedom

I have watched the coverage of the elections in Iran with such hope. The silent protest was so powerful. I have always felt that freedom is achieved best by those who refuse to accept anything less. Every culture is distinctive. Most countries are marked with ideology ingrained over 1000's of years which can be studied and appreciated but never fully understood by outsiders. I personally have questioned how you can design or impose freedoms on the people of other countries as a policy. Most attempts have failed as thoroughly over time as attempts to colonize or assimilate other countries during conquests. While the world's great democracies can encourage and support the growth of freedom, it cannot be transplanted. But when people have a true hunger for freedom, it cannot be stopped. It may take time, but it will happen as the majority choose to accept nothing less regardless of the consequences. The Berlin Wall fell, the Soviet Union crumbled, and dictators all over the world live in fear of revolt. I love living in a country where our government is held accountable to the people. I cannot imagine the life of an Iranian. But I hope that the people are able to create their own government of the people, by the people and for the people, whatever it might be.

"UP" with the movies.

I love to go watch movies. I love to go see movies in the theater. While I am happy to have the opportunity to watch a movie on demand or DVD in my husband's wonderful home theater room with surround sound, nothing compares to the experience in the theater. While it is nice to pause and go to the bathroom or to get a snack, the movie theater is where movies were born and where they belong. The popcorn smells better than microwaved corn, the candy shaking in the boxes is distinctive. My children always pick up their snack trash without a reminder. The big screen does make a difference even for the story/plot driven movies with no special effects. Plus, you share collective laughs, gasps, and groans with total strangers while you watch. You listen to the reviews start as soon as the credits roll as everyone weights in on whether the it was worth the price of the ticket. So we paid almost $49 dollars for four tickets to see "UP" in 3D today, plus about $20 for one bag of popcorn, two water bottles and one box of Reece's Pieces. And along with the family experience, we enjoyed the commentary of the three year old to my right as he became lost in the picture. We quietly laughed as he confided that the dogs were scary, when he announced "I only have one piece of licorice left!" and finally as he began to cry when he thought the house was lost forever, because the "The house isn't supposed to go away!" So when we left and talked about our respective favorite parts, we also laughed at the funny little boy on our row who took the entire experience to heart. He told his Dad that he wanted to stay until "all the words were gone". And we hope he gets more licorice.