A Thought Provoking Movie...

Scott and I just finished watching a very thought provoking movie, "Flash of Genius." It's a true story about the man, Bob Kearns, who invented the intermittent windshield wiper. Sadly, his invention was stolen by F*ord Motor Company.

The movie is his battle for justice...it wasn't about the money, he simply wanted them to acknowledge that they had committed a wrong. At one point, before the jury decided the case, they offered him $30 million as a settlement, but wouldn't agree to their wrong doing. He rejected the offer and ended up winning the court case, for less money.

I was a little taken aback at my emotional response to this movie... Perhaps it is a product of our current times, but I was so appalled by the greed that motivated this theft, that even though it's years later, I would have a hard time ever purchasing a F*ord product again.

But the thing that really surprised me was my response to his wife who ended up leaving him in the midst of his fight. I realize I've never walked in her shoes, but why are there so few people in this world who are really willing to fight the fight of injustice? I so applaud Mr. Kearns, that he fought for what was right instead of just rolling over and taking it.

I've been thinking alot about our schools. Things have gotten worse at Zack's school. Another kid was beaten up in the bathroom this past week, his jaw was broken and another kid we know, who went in to help was also beaten up. According to what's been said by faculty and the kids at school, this is a battle between a group of 'Goth' kids and an African American Gang. Turns out Zack's friend, that I wrote about last week, just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But I what I've been wondering is when is it time to take a stand and say enough?! When is it time to be like Mr. Kearns and let the fight for what is right just consume you? I know these battles are hard, they come with a high cost, but aren't some things worth fighting for?

A few years ago, Victoria Secrets started their campaign of putting scantily clad, very life like manequins in their store windows. I couldn't even take my sons to the mall any longer without exposing them to what I would consider soft porn. Two of our local papers printed an editorial that I wrote. Funny, people applauded my stand, but they weren't willing to stop doing business with V.S.

I realize we can't fight every battle, but when is a battle worth fighting? When does the cost of walking away become higher than the cost of fighting it out? Are we going to let hoodlums take our schools? Are we going to let marketing execs with no morals create environments for us and our children that go against what we believe? What are we willing to fight for?

If we don't find something we're willing to fight for, eventually we will lose our right to everything...speech...press...religion...etc. Is there anything worth fighting for?