Good Things

Went to see The Help on Thursday AM. I was looking for a break in my routine. My regular readers will remember that I had some problems with sewing last week. I decided that I needed to do something different from my usual to regenerate my spirit. So I went solo to the early show. Wow! It was good. Acting was superb! It honored the book I would go see it again. And I can't remember the last time I've thought that.

I found it thought provoking. Among my early experiences was a year my family spent living in a small town in Alabama. At the impressionable age of 12 I was very aware of the "separate but equal education" policy. It was so obvious that the "colored" schools did not have the funding of the "white" school. When we went to the movies, there was a separate section for "colored." It didn't make sense to me. Everything was separate, but certainly not equal.

I thought "The Help" did capture this mentality very well. Those who needed to feel superior to those that looked different from them. The growing fear of losing their sequestered white world
as the seeds of integration were given light. Rabid fear which drove folks into doing, supporting foolish policies and practices. (With not a big jump I could trace an analogy to the present day political climate, but I won't beat you over the head with my words. I trust many of you see what I see.)

We've come a long way from the days of segregation, but there is still much progress to make. We all need to get better at accepting and respecting those who look different from us, worship differently from us, live differently from us. We have much to learn from each other, but we must have open minds and listen. There are worthy ideas on each side of the issues, and we need to use our energies to mesh these ideas into solutions for the problems we face instead of fighting with each other.

Well, I didn't really mean to be so preachy on this Monday morning, but The Help while entertaining does lead to some healthy discussion. Go see it.