To Whom It May Concern

Saving Private Ryan, A Must See

I remember when the movie, Saving Private Ryan, first came out. There was a lot of buzz about how graphic the movie was, the realism and all. Steven Spielberg directed the movie, so of course, unsuspecting parents took their children to the movie expecting a light hearted 'E.T.' sort of feature, and instead were greeted with the most intensely grisly images of hellish war footage ever remade. And of course, then the complaints started rolling in, about how 'terrible' and 'overly violent in nature' the movie was. Some people even boycotted theaters showing the movie, due to it's intense depiction of war injuries.

Thankfully, World War II veterans spoke up in large numbers about the film, backing what the movie depicted. Many of them that spoke up talked about how we as a nation seem to have forgotten just how much was given in terms of suffering, tragedy, and human life, to bring about this great nation that we have today, and how a film like this can remind us how fragile freedom really is, and how much blood was sacrificed to make this country great. Perhaps instead of gasping at the idea that your children might see some bloodshed, perhaps you should rejoice in the fact that they will have a better idea of just how terrible a price is price is paid to insure the freedom for the people of our country to do whatever they want, even if that freedom involves protesting what the government is doing.

I watched the television today, the images from Baghdad, the jubilant Iraqi people who have been oppressed for so long, and it was a wonderful sight. I can only hope that in time, the same democratic representation and freedoms that we have come to take for granted, can work into place in Iraq, not just for their sake, but for the sake of that region, and for the world.