Pentagon Papers

We have seen two excellent movies this week. Both are historical dramas.

Darkest Hour is about Winston Churchill becoming Prime Minister of Great Britain. What did Churchill do? In the space of a few days in 1939, he mobilized the English language to defend the British Empire and ultimately the western world against a tyrant.  To see (and hear) how he did it, go see The Darkest Hour.

Note that he used language that was both powerful and clean. No obscenities. Not a single word you wouldn't want your children to hear.  Masterful invective. Example: describing a member of his war cabinet as "a sheep in sheep's clothing." That language is powerfully contemptuous but clean as a hound's tooth. We can take lessons from him.

The most powerful weapons in Winston's strategic arsenal in addition to language: 1. imagination; 2. determination.

The second powerful movie: The Post. This is the story of a strong willed woman who took a gamble against great odds and powerful opponents and triumphed. The woman was Katherine Graham, owner and publisher of the Washington Post, whose lawyers and financial advisors counseled prudence. She rejected their advice and turned a local newspaper into a national and international force. If you want a lesson in what the First Amendment is about and how it works, go see this movie.