Words to remember...

Politically, I am usually pretty mild in my posts for this blog. That said (and to no surprise to those who know me), I've never hid the fact that I would be considered on the liberal side of the spectrum.

While waiting on a person to measure our living room for new carpet, I was watching Judgment at Nuremberg (1961, directed by Stanley Kramer). It's not the first time I've seen it; I always remember it as a moving film, with some wonderful performances by a slew of legends (Spencer Tracey, Judy Garland, Montgomery Clift, Marlene Dietrich, Richard Witmark, Maximilian Schell, Burt Lancaster). Today, however, Tracey's "decision of the court" speech slammed me into the back of the couch. It's a combination of incredible acting, well-written monologue, and prescient fat to chew for our modern day world. Here's an excerpt:


"Heir Rolfe further asserts that the defendant, Janning, was an extraordinary jurist and acted in what he thought was the best interest of this country. There is truth in this also. Janning, to be sure, is a tragic figure. We believe he loathed the evil he did. But compassion for the present torture of his soul must not beget forgetfulness of the torture . . . by the Government of which he was a part. . . . [T]his trial has shown that under a national crisis, ordinary -- even able and extraordinary -- men can delude themselves into the commission of crimes so vast and heinous that they beggar the imagination. . . .
There are those in our own country too who today speak of the 'protection of country' -- of 'survival.' A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient -- to look the other way.
Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what?' A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult!
Before the people of the world, let it now be noted that here, in our decision, this is what we stand for: justice, truth, and the value of a single human being."


A clip of the speech is here. (AmericanRhetoric.com is a wonderful resource, by the way -- in fact, I've used it for the classroom.)

Everyone better vote in November. Everyone.