In our usual Christmas Day tradition, we went to a movie today. We chose The Good Shepherd — a sort of biopic of the CIA through the eyes of one Skull and Bones Yalie in the 30s who rose to head counter-intelligence there. Played by Matt Damon, he was a great character but the film itself was troubling. There are plenty of beefs with the plot and the bare, stereotypical portrayal of the women but most interesting to me was its ambiguity.
Throughout the film, it’s clear that much of what’s happening is horribly distasteful and ugly. Yet it’s equally clear that much of it has to be done, and that the people doing it are not ALL odious creatures. Instead, we’re able to think seriously about these people and what it is that has shaped their lives.
As one ugly incident after another arose, all I could think about was a courtroom scene in A Few Good Men when Tom Cruise’s character Lt. Daniel Kaffee questions Jack Nicholson’s memorable Col. Nathan R. Jessep
Col. Jessep: You want answers?
Kaffee: I think I’m entitled.
Col. Jessep: You want answers?
Kaffee: I want the truth.
Col. Jessep: You can’t handle the truth.
Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Whose gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago’s death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don’t want the truth because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you are entitled to.
In other words, lots of ugly things are done in our names. Sometimes, like in Abu Ghraib, they’re wrong. Sometimes, like some of the events in this film, they’re necessary — and as Col. Jessep reminds us — most of us don’t want to talk about them at parties –OR to know about them at all.
As angry as we get – and as ashamed as current government activities may make us – this film has evoked in me a renewed awareness of those complicated moral issues that emerge along with complicated events. For that alone, it’s a movie I’d recommend.