I was loaned The Blind Side DVD a few weeks ago and watched it. Unlike the majority of movies these days, it had a very powerful and important message. Here is a brief review of this excellent film.
More than the actors and actresses including Sandra Bullock, the movie is the star. Actually, the movie is a five star affair. It is based on a true story (the best kind of movie from my point of view).
The Blind Side is a truly American story. It’s the story of poor black kid from the projects being helped by a successful white family. The mother takes a personal interest in this young man out of pure Christian love and helps him to develop his full potential. She provides and opportunity and the resources. The movie in many ways in antithetical to the horrors of life being lived in much of the inner cities today.
Although the movie is not political, I must make the following observation. Ever since the meddling misguided Great Society welfare system was birthed, which actually helped to destroy the black family making the father expendable and actually constructed a system that encouraged his absence, there has been an assault on the minority community. Welfare is not working. Education is deplorable and even contributes to keeping most of the children in public schools from escaping the ghetto. Add to it the modern day eugenic Planned Parenthood clinics hell-bent on destroying black babies, you have a serious problem. Someone breaking free from these shackles is a miracle.
One lone mother along with her children and family showered this young black man with love and helped to lift him out of the gang and drug infested environment. That is the story of The Blind Side. It shows the potential of one person going out of her or his way to help another human being to reach his God-ordained purpose and potential in life. Wow, what a exemplary case study!
The Blind Side is more than a sports story. It is more than a social commentary. It is more than a feel good flick. Yes, the story ends with a gifted athlete becoming an NFL football player, but it more that financial success, more than the accolades and glory that come with stardom. It is the story of demonstrating a godly concern for one’s neighbor. It is a demonstration of unselfish charity, hope and faith. It is a powerful modern day parable of the good soccer mom who thinks and acts out of the box. It is a story of what a family can accomplish through simple sharing, love and unity.
I would highly recommend this uplifting and inspiring movie to all ages and every family. In many respects it runs counter to our present godless, self-absorbed culture. However, it shows what love, respect, and honor can do. It demonstrates the genuine Christian and a genuine American value system, which seems so foreign today.
RATING
I would rate The Blind Side movie ***** out of ***** for the solid, inspiring, authentic and moral message that it brings. It is worth purchasing and re-watching many times.
Congratulations, Greg! This is one of the few posts I've seen you make here which isn't crazy mean and dishonest with fundamentalist conservative distortion. I've not seen the movie, but you really make me want to see it.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think the values you celebrate here -- and that you see celebrated in this movie -- are values that you and I can both agree upon. Of course, I seriously doubt that such values are any less abundant now than ever before. We all tend to rewrite history to create our own notions of a "golden age," even though such an age never actually existed; human nature has pretty much stayed the same. But as a Christian, an American and a human, I agree that such values are worth celebrating.
I also agree to a great extent with your analysis of the effect of welfare programs on the black family. I think we made some very serious policy errors in the 1960's in that regard that we have only recently begun to come to terms with. Does this mean we should eliminate welfare? Of course not! But it does mean that our current welfare rules should be written in such a way as to encourage -- not discourage -- the maintenance of strong family ties.
And of course, no reasonable, moral, unbiased or Christian person would ever say that the people at Planned Parenthood are "hell-bent on destroying black babies." The Planned Parenthood people just have a different view than you do Greg -- that's not the same as being evil or racist and wanting to kill black babies. A moral, Christian person would not do as you do here and exaggerate unfortunate demographic issues that extend far beyond PP's control into this sort of accusation. Just to make sure you understand: having a different opinion than Greg is not equivalent to being evil. You forget that a lot.
That's the only truly crazy mean dishonest part of your post, however. For maintaining your sense of honor, honesty & Christianity throughout the REST of your post, I salute you. That's quite a record for you. And I salute you for pointing out to us this movie.
kwix,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that people should listen to other people's views and not be so stuck in our opinions that we can't ever change about anything.
But there is evidence that Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood was a racist and did deliberately target blacks for extermination. And this view hasn't changed at PP. There have been people who have called in wanting PP to help them cover up rapes and they are all too happy to take contributions from people who want to target their donation for the killing of black babies. (They may have changed their policy since they were caught on tape doing this.)
I am beginning to agree with you that there was no "golden age" because black were mistreated in the beginning. But that doesn't justify stealing from taxpayers and giving the money to the poor and in the process violating the 10th amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Thanks for a post that demonstrates -- although in very civil, positive language -- the very same biased, deceptive, deductive exaggerations that characterize the demonizing approach I criticize.
ReplyDeleteNobody honest, who was trying to assess the contemporary organization Planned Parenthood, would purposely go back decades and decades and decades ago to focus on Margaret Sanger and the racist ideas that motivated most white people of that distant time. Ditto, if you truly were trying to have an unbiased evaluation of Planned Parenthood, you wouldn't hold them responsible for demographic issues beyond their control.
In other words, this isn't a case of inductive (add the facts to find out the reality) reasoning; it is a pretty clear textbook example of deductive (figure out what your position is, and then do what you can to line up the facts that direction) "reasoning." There may be some very good arguments to make against Planned Parenthood; I have some issues to pick with them myself. But you don't do your cause any good by dragging in such irrelevancies just to make them look bad. Instead, deal with REAL issues.