So I turned to movies to find comfort and was again subjected to adrenaline pumping paranoia with the likes of Red Dawn (the remake a friend is in by the way), Wall Street, The Rescue, Flight of the Navigator, even E.T. for pete’s sake!

All these films and books had something in common – government is bad, corporations are bad.

Which left me wondering who the hell do you trust? Family? Not with the divorce rate (a subject coming up here on the Avocado Jungle)– family was not what my generation naturally was trusting. So who do you trust?

The answer was sadly no one. That was the message then and even to this day in popular culture you see corporations and government continually vilified. In the Health Care debate you see Insurance Companies treated like they are comprised of evil sorcerers bent on world domination and then on the right side of the political non-spectrum you see folks acting as if our Government – the one with the beloved Constitution – was some fascist dictatorship bent on taking away your “freedom”.

Neither picture is true and sadly we are all suffering because of it.

Corporations, whether you like it or not, are comprised of people. That’s right. People. And no not like Solient Green, no one is getting eaten here – the people actually run these corporations, from custodial engineers to CEO’s – they are flesh and blood people who mostly pay taxes, buy goods and live next door to any one of us.

Government is ours. It is the voice of the people. Like the document says “Of, by and for the people”. Not sure why that’s never understood. Our government, as flawed as some of it’s elected officials often are, is ours – it is a tool to use to protect us and make our lives easier. To give a comparison – without government we would be a civilization of tribes – forced to barter and provide our own security on an individual basis. I don’t know about you but I can’t fire a gun and as a film maker/writer I’m not sure how I would trade my skills for a gallon of milk. So I like government. Now we could do a better job of electing competent people who care about the job and not the status. (can anyone explain to me how Bohnner was elected to my home district?)

So what’s the solution? Many of you will argue that corporations are bad and government is too big or too corrupt and many of you will argue all politicians are crooked. And many of you would be the ones culpable. You elected them, you work for them, you buy their goods – you give them power.

And you can take it away.

If you don’t lke big banks, move your money to smaller ones

If you don’t like your health care – drop your provider – and yes this means you’ll have to convince thousands if not millions of others to do the same – but no one said living was easy.

If you don’t like your crooked politicians – stop electing them! (hint: they’re not all corrupt it’s just easier to think that)

If you don’t like your government – run for it not away from it. Get involved in the process – it’s built to include you.

If you don’t like the labor practices of a company – don’t buy their goods or services!

In the modern age it is much easier to make a stand – you can do most of it from the comfort of your home computer – Facebook is a wonderful tool to organize large groups of people on a large scale.

I have no problem with corporations – I worked for a large one for a number of years and was treated very well even as an intern. I have no problem with government – it works when the people are paying attention and I believe strongly in what the founding father’s laid out in the constitution.

As filmmakers and story tellers we have a responsibility to focus on accountability rather than creating a convenient and faceless villain – one of the main reasons I started this site and continue to push forward as a filmmaker is to seek the truth – no matter what it looks like when you shine the light of day on it.

The truth is it is up to the individual to speak up when their boss wants to go in a immoral direction, the truth is it up to the individual to stop electing used car sales men and career politicians and undereducated fame mongers, the truth is it is up to the individual to know what laws are being passed and which ones should be stricken down.

The truth is – it’s up to you – the reader, the audience, the citizen.

Puerto Rico…

I’ll be the first in line to admit that every vote counts. That every vote must be considered. After all, for many, it is as close to the political process that they’ll ever come. Every vote must be counted.

But this is not a general election. It is a contest for the nominee of the Democratic National Committee. Some states have been closed primaries, only Democratic voters allowed. Others have been open, still others have had lovely bonus systems – two for the price of one – caucus and primary. And then there’s Puerto Rico and Guam. U.S. Territories. Puerto Rico doesn’t even vote in the general election.

In my opinion the only reason Clinton won Puerto Rico is that she promised them the right to vote in general elections. A noble gesture that is suspect in it’s timing. In my opinion all those things she typically speaks of she’s had more then enough time as a public servant to address – and she has failed to do so. I can not help but remember how her husband used his Presidential powers to try to exonerate Puerto Rican extremists, separatists really, – members of the violent FALN. At the time of Bill Clinton’s odd gesture towards the FALN members (who refused to renounce their involvement in the group and refused to be released) coincided with Hillary’s run for the New York Senate. There is a large Puerto Rican population in New York – one of the reasons she is considered to have been a favorite of the island in this election.

Regardless the fact is, no matter her promise, that Puerto Rico does not count in the general election. And it takes more then a presidential candidate to make that happen. In fact it takes an act of congress.

The only conclusion I believe any rational person could make is that the Democratic Primary System is inconsistent and disorganized. That much has been proven to be clear.

Yet there is all this talk during this contest of which states count and which ones’ do not. Clinton has been the worst purveyor of this merry-go-round argument of late citing these so-called “battleground” states as proof positive of her chances against McCain in the fall. Never mind that Obama has actually come out ahead in most of States in the Union, and never mind that the world and this country is very different then it was just four years ago. For one thing we were only one year into the Iraq war in 2004. Oil had just passed $50 a barrel and the price of a gallon of gas was nearing $3. And we were only three short years past 9/11. The country was a very different place.

And yet the metrics used constantly by the media and the campaigns enjoy showing maps from the 2004 presidential election – back when we had red and blue states. Of course who can blame the pundits and the politicians for looking for some tangibility in this strange new world they now find themselves in. Things are not the same as they once were and no one has a map that explains what has happened and where to go.

In many ways we are a nation lost but a nation desperate for clarity. Looking for a sign along a winding road.