Once in a great while, I opt to draw inspiration from cinema. However, in contrast to prior columns that linked to vintage films, today’s discussion hinges on a movie that dates only to 1992.
Al Pacino is known for many roles and his versatility is legendary in the movie business, but my favorite Pacino film is “Scent of a Woman”. Most plots that center on a prep school student are lackluster and fairly boring. Not so with this masterpiece. When Charlie Simms takes a job to babysit a blind man who is medically retired from the US Army, he gets more than he bargained for — and that’s putting it mildly.
Over the course of the film, Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade becomes more than an assignment, he becomes a mentor, a friend, and a tremendous influence on Charlie’s life.
Charlie, a student on scholarship at Baird, a fictional, albeit prestigious Eastern boys’ prep school, had witnessed a late night prank. The vandalism quickly became a thorn in the sides of the higher-ups at the school and they vowed to bring the culprits to justice — at least Baird justice.
Throw in a spoiled brat whose rich daddy shows up to defend him in a live forum before the entire student body, and you have a scene ripe for common sense and reason.
Charlie expected a quiet time in the simple apartment of his charge, but found himself on an unexpected trip to New York City and sumptuous accommodations at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Once he reveals his agenda, Charlie doesn’t know whether or not to take him seriously, but as their sojourn continues, he worries that Slade has told him precisely what he seeks to do — take a first-class trip, drop by his older brother’s home on Thanksgiving, have a great dinner at an exclusive Big Apple restaurant, make love to a beautiful woman and then blow his brains out.
Charlie learns that Frank lost his sight when juggling hand grenades when drunk and one of them exploded. His Army career was everything to him, and the resulting medical discharge proved lethal to Slade’s life and his mood did everything to alienate everyone with whom he came in contact — family or not.
In one of the most memorable scenes, Frank deftly led a woman in a hotel ballroom in a tango that rivals anything I have ever seen. The agility and grace of this blind man and his partner was riveting.
In an unbelievable sequence, there’s a Ferrari test drive. At first, Charlie drives, but then, giving verbal directions, Frank drivers. The high-speed trip through side streets among warehouses ends abruptly when Slade is pulled over for speeding. No arrest. No ticket. Why? The officer is never aware that Slade cannot see.
Occasionally, between wry cuts at society at large and the recurring theme of women and what he most remembered about them, Slade imparted his wisdom to young Charlie in fits and starts that kept the audience rapt with attention. Claiming a headache, Slade sends Charlie for aspirin. He returns too quickly and finds Slade with a gun to his head. Charlie grabs the gun and grieves for the older man who laments that there would never be a woman who would love him.
Charlie makes sure that Slade gets home safely and then returns to school to “face the music”. Sitting alone across from the weasel of a classmate and his wealthy father, Charlie holds to his morals and does not identify the vandals by name. In his words, they looked like just so many other “Baird men”.
As President Trask rants on, the limousine driver leads a very well dressed Slade down the aisle among all the students to the stage and seats him beside Charlie. What ensued was perhaps the best defense of character and integrity I have ever heard.
Just like Charlie who faced off against a smug father and his spoiled brat son on that stage in the movie, we face politicians who have no compunction to put our children and grandchildren at risk with debt of insane proportions.
How does the movie relate to this? What we need is today’s version of Lt. Colonel Frank Slade, US Army Retired to stand before a joint session of Congress with the President and Vice-President front and center in the first row and dress them down as Slade did in the film.
Slade claimed that the disciplinary committee held a young man’s soul in their hands. Well, our government holds the American soul — its future — in its hands. Well, it’s pretty apparent that they place no value on our future. We exist as merely a source of funds to fuel their insatiable appetite for spending.
What we need is plain talk. No catch phrases. No political speak. Common sense. Stress on character, integrity and honesty — and yes, responsibility.
Sadly, that speaker would need a receptive, open-minded audience. Somehow, that doesn’t seem to fit the Senate at all. While the House sees the cliff as we hurtle toward it, the US Senate remains divided down party lines and refuses to see the big picture.
Pray for that speaker. Surely that person exists. I have faith in America. Hope springs eternal. Voice of reason, come forth.
With our luck, the speaker would be shuffled off to the side and the media would tack on the “wacko” label. So much for good judgment… They say that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. The feds have spent and spent, telling us that spending would turn the economy around. Has it? Hardly. I never had an economics professor in my life that touted overspending as an avenue to fiscal security.
Maybe the change we need is in personnel and not in policy. If any of us ran our household like the government runs itself, we’d all be homeless or in jail.
We need you. Baird officials maintained that they knew best and everyone needed to toe their line. Sound familiar? Slade set them straight. Think about it.