Blood Diamond

The movie Blood Diamond has dramatically changed the way I view people in this world. This movie is based on true facts about the bloodshed of many Africans for the greed of diamonds that lead to power and wealth. This event is as recent as 1999, Sierra Leon. This greed and corruption has existed as long as we have called ourselves humans. From the beginning of time people have defeated the weak, killed, raped and captured others to have them work for themselves or to brain wash them in fighting for their cause.
Review by Kenneth Turan, LA Times Staff Writer could not express in words what I feel better. [Directed by Edward Zwick, who believes that "political awareness can be raised as much by entertainment as by rhetoric”; he writes about the fact that diamonds were being smuggled out of countries at war specifically to buy more arms and kill more people. This situation, the film emphasizes, "created millions of refugees who've never seen a diamond." power to change lives. He ends with, the film's willingness to risk disturbing an audience's sense of the world and how it is run. "Blood Diamond" is very much aware that these are problems are beyond an easy and convenient resolution, and it is hard not to appreciate any film that understands that.]

Exactly, hit the nail on the head, it has changed my sense of how the world is run. Zwick, director producer also produced and directed Legends of the fall. I watched it a few weeks ago for the 150th time. Aside from admiring Brad Pitt’s gorgeous looks and commitment to the role I really payed attention to the dad played by Anthony Hopkins and his anti-government remarks. Side note - now Leonardo DiCaprio is my new movie crush. It took him 10 years for me to take a liking but he has aged as fine as wine.

I feel like in this year 2007 I have been made more aware of what is going on in our world. So much sadness and grief, I know there is good but so many times it is fore shadowed by the bad. Another example is after watching Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore and the reality that we are accelerating the Earths demise. Also, watching planet in peril from CNN…we are really screwing up this beautiful planet and everything that it has to offer us; sometimes unknowingly if we are not educated but mostly knowingly. Then I watched on the Science channel about the creation of our Planet and how it has gone through many changes (some of which I knew) I didn’t put everything together in my head as I have done lately. Only in the last 10,000,000 has this planet been in the best climate that has allowed humans and animals to evolve into what we have today. It has allowed for creatures to excel and humans to destroy. This planet is not going to exist forever; another Ice Age is upon us given it will probably be in 100 million more years (I didn’t know that or hadn’t figured it out) this planet as we know today will not be forever!

All this makes me this makes me want to do more for the environment, be a better person, be good with the Lord. Now I realize that my little IF drama is really not that big of a deal in regards to the whole scheme of things. There are people dying every day for the greed of others, starving, living in very poor circumstances. I hate that the better (middle to upper middle, rich class) parts of the world forget this and focus on the last celebrity bad mom or which one got out of rehab and just delivering snippets of the reality that is really going on in our countries. Then it makes me think do I really want to bring another child into this world with good and very bad people. “People are just people; it is what they do that makes them good or evil.” All people can be inherently good if given the opportunity. Yes, I do want to bring a child into this world and show him what a magnificent world this is. I want to see a little of myself and my dh in our children. Watch them grow and learn and guide them through this life. Specially, teach them all about our world and our existence. How we must protect our environment and be good people.