a bent piece of wire

Just watched [Paper Clips] at the Angelika. Last week, it was sold out multiple times by busloads of high school students. I'm happy that some teachers understand tolerance enough to take their students on a field trip to see this documentary. There's only one or two lines in the film which explain why there are now 11 million paperclips in the collection, versus the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust, although that shouldn't diminish the film itself: it is very positive that they recognized that a lot more people were killed by the Hitler regime.

Near the end of the film, I couldn't help but wonder if this project - born out of an 8th Grade class about the Holocaust - has made any inroads into the political fabric around Whitwell, Tennessee.

I guess I'd be surprised if the local townsfolk failed to side with the intolerant Bush regime in the 2004 election, or if the 125 or so students who've been in that class (over 5 years) have made enough townspeople draw the parallel to what happened in 1930s Germany.

A posting on a website (months ago) still causes me a lot of heartburn. It documented a conversation between some Plano soccer moms, who complained that our society is too tolerant of others, and how we should restrict those people. I suppose that they don't realize how tolerant others are of their intolerance. Perhaps one day, their SUVs, pastel dresses, and shined Sunday (only) shoes will be seen as something to be vilified; odds are they'll be baffled by why they are targeted for hatred.

Somewhat related: I'm not surprised to see the 2005 Texas Legislature living up to their promises. So far, they have

1. avoid taking responsibility for their votes (there's no record of how our representatives vote on a given bill);
2. told us that it's okay to run red traffic lights (cameras have been banned);
3. raised the state sales tax (in the guise of education reform);
4. found more ways for the CFRP to help Big Oil profit at the expense of my wallet.

Then again, they should be allowed to run amok, lest I be labeled as being intolerant of their intolerance.