Screw Up Your Courage America!

by Kevin Gosztola

“World War I. German Soldiers wrote poems about the bravery of British Grunts. Admired them. Almost as much as they laughed at the British High Command who just wasted those same Grunts by the hundred-thousand. A German General wrote, “Nowhere else have I seen such Lions led by such Lambs.” -Dr. Malley (Robert Redford, Lions for Lambs)

Only I could have experienced the emotional rollercoaster that occurred tonight before, during, and after attending a special free screening at my college of Lions for Lambs, which turned out to be one of the best executed films on politics, media, and military that I have ever seen.
I walked in having politicized this event in my mind even when I have a deep reluctance when it comes to showing up to events and politicizing them specifically. I planned on getting 50-100 signatures for Dennis Kucinich, signatures which are desperately needed here in Illinois right now because 3,000-5,000 signatures must be delivered to Springfield, Illinois so that he can be on the ballot in the February 5th primary. But I let my reservations get the best of me and walked home afterwards in the rain cursing at my failure.

The film is a must-see and an opportunity for college students like me to really go after people and get them to change their apathetic or shallow ways of thinking by addressing military recruitment, the draft, poverty, and what it means to be a good citizen. I could go through and tell you all the ideas that came through in the film, but I do not wish to give away the intricacies and underlying messages within that are staggeringly profound. However, I will impart one message to you that struck me so hard that I am deeply unhappy that I did not act after hearing it

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