And the world comes crashing down…

I was listening to a lot of podcasts today, as I’m deep in debt to my desire to keep up with the world around me, and have recently neglected to keep up with my subscriptions. Going through the Center for Strategic and International Studies podcasts, I came across a movie review. The movie is “IOUSA” and speaks about the debt we are passing along to the next generation. I thought the podcast author’s review was poignant and amazing. I have not seen the movie, but I will be soon.
“Today I’d like to talk to you about a movie that is running in some theatres across the country entitled ‘IOUSA.’ I’d like to title my comments here today ‘IOUSA: An Explanation.’  Now you know when we all go to movies, we see these ratings before we go in. Well, the rating on this movie asserts that it is PG, that some material may not be suitable for children. You’ve seen it hundreds of times.  Well, in this case, it couldn’t be more wrong. All of the material in this film, IOUSA, is really obscene. Obscene in the extreme. Especially when it comes to the outlook for our children, and their children.

If young people now could only grasp the complexity of their predicament. If they could appreciate the magnitude of the big ticket problems that are being passed on to them. If they had any inkling of the inter-generational equity fights that they have in store with the boomers and other. If they could only begin to understand the foregone opportunities that they face… those children would weep in their popcorn. I guess its better to let them busy themselves with a kind of ‘other’ intellectual masterpieces we see around us these days, like the Mall Cop. Well let me tell you, they’ll be horrified by the real life saga soon enough.

…

The film deserves better, both in terms of timing, and those who see it. It is the story of how the U.S. has managed to indebt itself to the point of paralysis, even before the full brunt retiring “Boomer” cohort takes hold. Beyond that, it is the autopsy of a systematic breakdown in leadership on both sides of the isle, a case-study of how easy and painless it is to pass problems along to the next generation.“

I’m not sure who the author of this speech was, there is none given. What am I to think of this? First, I understand that I am taking a lot in trust from the speaker. At the same time, I cannot mistake a warning I have received from well-versed camps of professors and activists warning me of the weight I have not yet felt on my shoulders. This enticement will probably make me search out this movie. Best of luck to me!

___________

In another podcasts which is making a bold attempt to train me for the LSATs (again) my interest was piqued by a great quote the strange-voiced narrator, Andrew Brody, uses to end each podcast.

“Stay skeptical, think critically, and assume nothing.”

I absolutely love this quote. Im attempting to “make it my own” so to speak. Sorry, Brody.

See you soon,

- Webb