It felt quite different to watch “Amistad” this time around. I guess the ever present memories of the recent experience of the “Green Movement” in Iran over shadows my thoughts as well as my feelings, whether I am aware of it or not. I sat there clinching my fists at times, shedding tears at others and longing for those who have ever lost their lives for freedom.
In passing, one might think the movie is about some slaves on the board of a Spanish cargo ship: “Amistad” but lo and behold IT turned out to be one of the historical elements that developed to become the turning point of the American history in the early 1840s.
The ex-president, John Quincy Adams, represented the Africans in the case, United States of America Vs. Amistad at the Supreme Court.
I wept uncontrollably as he turned to the Justices and said, “We desperately need your strength and wisdom… to triumph over our fears, our prejudices, ourselves. Give us the courage to do what is right. And if it means civil war, then let it come. And when it does, may it be, finally, the last battle of the American Revolution.”
Is this what lays ahead in Iran? Is this what Iran and Iranians need?
Freedom cannot be given. It is our right at birth. But there are moments in time when it MUST be taken.
