Went to see the Edward Murrow film with Matt tonight. Brilliant film: very well edited, stunning dialogue (even the bits that weren’t verbatim transcripts of Murrow).
Very timely… especially the subtle comment at the end about habeus corpus, because of course we *don’t* have that privilege anymore with our anti-terror laws and new sedition laws and the US has lost it too, with the Patriot Act and rendition.
I think it is a vital reminder of two things: that we must stick by our convictions in times of crisis and that it is vitally important to stay on good terms with people who may not agree with us but believe in the right for us to speak. Had Murrow been a ‘pinko’ himself, he could never have done what he did. I don’t know that the media now has the power that the media then had. I think, even more than when Murrow wrote his speech, it is a palimpsest of entertainment, the worst excesses of Hesse’s feuilleton.
Anyhow, following that, came back here and had various Serious Conversations after which I am somewhat wistful but unsurprised and wondering exactly when I’m going to pack for Woodford.