Waking Up

This morning I awoke with the song "Officer Krupke" from West Side Story inexplicably echoing in my head and once I ceased wondering why the fuck such a random, obscure and ridiculous tune would irritatingly repeat in my mind, I began thinking about the lyrics. These lyrics in particular:

Deep inside/The worst of us is good

After that annoying little refrain echoed through my cranium several times, I naturally began to wonder if the reverse is true? If the worst of us is good, does it follow that the best of us is bad? Well, I don't necessarily subscribe to the notion the actual lyric presents. Hell, there are countless people in the world for whom even an ounce of goodness deep down is implausible. However, I do believe the converse is true: even the best of people have a dark streak, a point at which they'd break like a wine glass, a point at which they'd turn, well, bad.

Does this make me a pessimist? Not at all. Like most people, I prefer to believe that the majority of human beings are inherently good, kind, genuine. It's what keeps me from fleeing this dysfunctional planet. I'm simply saying (young gang members in West Side Story exempted) "deep inside, the worst of us"--those truly evil souls that regrettably exist in large numbers--do not, as Bernstein & Sondheim may envisage, possess any goodness. In keeping with current events, I'd promptly slap Joel Steinberg's name on that list. And possibly that of our president, though I believe the brainless are incapable of true evil. Leave that to the brilliant criminal minds surrounding him.

Is it obvious I just saw Fahrenheit 9/11? I won't launch into a typical harangue, but I will say, my reaction surprised me immensely. The film left me less angry and enraged than sad and disheartened. Regardless of your personal politics, your opinion of our government or your disgust for Michael Moore, this is an important film. I learned a great deal from it, even as a consistently well-informed citizen. It also, quite unexpectedly, made me break down in tears, rummaging around in my backpack for a sadly absent absorbency device. When was the last time a film informed, entertained and deeply saddened you all at once? Whatever aversion or disdain people have for Moore's ballsy, arrogant, in-your-face style, it simply cannot be denied that he nailed this one masterfully. Thank you, Michael.

Posted by ayelet at July 2, 2004 08:41 AM