"......it's just a bunch of guys!"--Zero Effect

It has been said I have a odd taste in film.  Zero Effect is this movie from 1998.  "the world's most private detective" Bill Pullman plays the elusive Darryl Zero and  gets 3 stars from Rotten Tomatoes. I found that harsh!  I truly enjoyed it. Watched it many times, I know it almost by heart.  Along with Bill Pullman, Ben Stiller co-stars as Steve Arlo,  his trusty front man assistant.  The story was interesting. Really weird characters with interesting stories to tell on their own within the plot. Good cast, Ryan O'Neal plays ivy-league brat in a grown up body and needs Pullman's character to help him.  Kim Dixon plays a woman of mystery. All characters are brilliantly  flawed. Music for the sound track was excellent, a great mix of artists and songs From Elvis Costello's "Mystery Dance" to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' "Into My Arms".  Some folks who I have introduced to the movie say it has some places that are slow. Not in my opinion.  This movie has everything for me, comedy, drama, crime, and the characters all get to learn a good lesson whether they wanted it or not. I recommend looking on IMDB to see the reviews, they are the most fair to the film and rated it at 6.8 stars, and hey it is not the last movie you are ever going to watch.

There is this tense scene where Pullman's character is ranting about good guys and bad guys.  Darryl has this view that is almost like some god (or demi-god) complex that he can help these people entangled in their messes, right the wrongs that they do because he sees the big picture and is the worlds greatest detective.  His fees are huge and only the very rich who "mess up" can think to afford him.  Darryl does his job well but his assitant has had enough of these kind of people. Darryl does not want Steve to quit. He needs him for legal advice and rock solid research.  So he rants on about the good guys and bad guys, and Steve yells at him that it is not about the good guys or bad guys, "....it's just a bunch of guys!"

I  want to draw attention to this quote because when I am looking around in my world, listening to NPR radio, listening to my family, and people in my immediate community I notice a loss of civility.  Current polarity in politics seems to encourage people to openly call others names and blame them for all that is wrong in our system.  It is just plain illogical and a poor display of manners!  If we let our political process get reduced to war chests, influence and revenue for media corporations and a huge group of "type A" personalities fervently working to get someone into political office then it is up to the citizens of this nation to get involved to give it relevancy, meaning, and depth .

Our system is our system.  It is what it is because of the nature of politics.  "It is hard to blame a cat for being a cat" from Jeremy Thatcher Dragon Hatcher, I had read the book to my grandson and use the quote a lot.  Politics is a loud, long war of facts and factoids, sound bytes, super pacs.  TV spots are expensive. It is the way it is and has served well to get people motivated and interested in the political process, which is never a bad thing.  It is up to the citizens of our nation to shape and mold the government to the ever changing need of our country.  One should always check facts about the election and who wants to get into political office. It is the responsibility of the citizens.

This system is annoying and kind of goofy but for all that it is or not,  it works.  It does not please all the citizens but all do not participate.  Apathy and citizen non-participation has it's influence on the system.   All are people pursuing life with freedoms that do not exist everywhere on the globe. All deserve decent human treatment. Yelling at fellow citizens and saying one group is to blame for the demise of our country's  "way of life" is just plain rude. The level of rudeness and incivility in today's political process is maddening. It shows a pure lack of respect for people in general.  It is not about us and them, we all are just a bunch of people with strong feelings about what might be wrong with the nation's way forward.  Instead of yelling and finger pointing perhaps a conversation is in order. Pigeon-holing 47% of the population into "them" that is to blame is just plain dangerous.

It is not about the rights and wrongs of political parties and their view of government; it is the result of the conversation we have to act with prudence and respect to shape the government into a system that works for more than a few. Perhaps it is time to give a good hard look at who really benefits when everyone is so "grid-locked" and angry in politics. Demonizing groups and name-calling gets the process nowhere and the biggest example of it is our MOST DO NOTHING CONGRESS EVER!  So who does it benefit?  A suggestion would be to look at who benefits from the UN-action. Look around and see what it means if congress does nothing or very little between now and then end of the year.  Have true but civil conversations that yield real facts and workable ideas not just the verbal jousting with what super pacs put out in bytes and portions of the issues that are important the country.