Add in a conspiracy of advisers such as Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Stephen Miller, Sean Hannity, Franklin Graham, Kellyanne Conway, Jared Kushner, Jerry Falwell, Jr., and Rudy Giuliani and you end up with a community of grifters, bigots, and liars (Oh, my!) Then, of course, there are Trump's children, who serve as clinical models for the Dunning-Kruger effect. Thankfully, the answer to the age-old question "If you're so smart, then why are you so dumb?" can be found in Umair Haque's brilliant article entitled "The Rise (and Rise) of the Imbecile -- Why the West is Drowning in a Tidal Wave of Ignorance, Demagoguery, and Self-Inflicted Catastrophe."
Were things always this bad? A recent revival of All My Sons starring Annette Bening and Tracy Letts revisits Arthur Miller's 1947 drama based on a true story the playwright's then mother-in-law pointed out to him in an Ohio newspaper. As noted on Wikipedia:
"The news story described how in 1941-43 the Wright Aeronautical Corporation based in Ohio had conspired with army inspection officers to approve defective aircraft engines destined for military use. The story of defective engines had reached investigators working for Sen. Harry Truman's congressional investigative board after several Wright aircraft assembly workers informed on the company; they would later testify under oath before Congress. In 1944, three Army Air Force officers, Lt. Col. Frank C. Greulich, Major Walter A. Ryan, and Major William Bruckmann were relieved of duty and later convicted of neglect of duty."More than 75 years later, does Boeing's crisis with regard to the 737-MAX-8 disasters (as well as its cozy relationship with the Federal Aviation Authority) sound familiar?
As we head toward the 2020 Presidential election, the field of contenders is already reshaping arguments about America's path to the future. While Republicans seem to be goose stepping to the drumbeat of more tax cuts, hypocrisy, and corruption, Democrats like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, and Kamala Harris are carving out campaigns based on the need to change course.
Although change can be frightening to those who profit from the status quo, one should never forget that change is the only constant in life. Sometimes change requires sacrifice, sometimes it can cause pain. In some cases change can be a reaction to tragedy, in others it can pave the path to a better world. What the loudest voices protesting change often overlook is that the most controversial types of change are often in service of the greater good.
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Major cultural centers like New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong, and San Francisco rely heavily on tourism as a key contributor to their economies. While these cities have spent years finding ways to ameliorate the costs of accommodating the tourism industry, smaller destinations often struggle to retain their culture and traditions. Two remote island cultures have taken markedly different approaches to the risks and benefits of tourism, technology, and globalization.Since 1930, the Galápagos Islands (which belong to Ecuador) have taken strong measures to protect the area's historically unique biodiversity.
- As part of the celebration commemorating the 100th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's landmark book about evolution ("Origin of the Species"), 97.5% of the archipelago's land mass was declared a national park by the government of Ecuador in 1959.
- In 1978, the islands were designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO.
- In 1985, UNESCO recognized the islands as a biosphere reserve.
- In 1986, the second largest marine reserve in the world (27,000 square miles) was created in the waters surrounding the islands.
- Local tourism is strictly regulated with a clear eye toward preserving the area's unique ecosystem.
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| Musician Enrique Icka and his wife in a scene from Eating Up Easter |
Nearly 120,000 tourists visit the island every year (most arrive at Mataveri International Airport after a five-hour flight from Santiago, Chile on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner). The cost of accommodating so much tourism has included more processing of trash and waste in addition to the never-ending volume of microplastics that washes up on Rapa Nui’s shores. Even though there are no stoplights on the island, the increasing traffic problem is the result of businesses buying more and more cars to rent to tourists (one can drive across the island in 20 minutes).
What brings so many tourists to Easter Island? The primary attraction is the collection of 1,000-year-old moai (statues created by the early Rapa Nui people). UNESCO named Easter Island a World Heritage site in 1995 and, since then, much of the island has been protected within Rapa Nui National Park. In the following video clip, the filmmaker's father, Sergio Rapa (who attended UC-Berkeley, led the 1978 restoration and re-erection of seven of the island's gigantic moai at the Anakena site, and became the island’s first native-born Governor) explains how the giant statues were created and moved.
In Eating Up Easter, the filmmaker's father is seen as the driving force behind the development of Hanga Roa's first mini-mall (which includes the island’s first elevator). Another key figure is the late Ida "Mama Piru" Huke, a feisty local ecologist who led the island's recycling efforts and delivers some pointed criticism about how much tourism-generated garbage must be removed from the island every week.
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| Environmental activist Ida "Mama Piru" Huke in a scene from Eating Up Easter |
Enrique Icka (a popular native musician) and his wife, who hope to preserve cultural practices and reunite their fractured community, can be seen using recycled bottles and plastics as part of the construction materials for a free music school for the island's children.
Blessed with some stunning aerial photography by Mark Mostad, Eating Up Easter shows the beauty of Rapa Nui's culture as well as the garbage that threatens to devour it. The contrast between what draws visitors to Easter Island and what they leave behind is enough to turn anyone into an environmental activist. Here's the trailer:
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Most baby boomers were too young to vote in 1963 but, with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas on November 23, a wave of shock, horror, confusion, grief, and a new sense of political awareness gripped the nation. At 2:38 p.m. that afternoon, shortly before Air Force One took off from Love Field to carry Kennedy's body back to Andrews Air Force Base (with his widow still wearing her pink, blood-spattered Chanel suit), the nation's transition of power took place as Lyndon Baines Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States by Judge Sarah T. Hughes. |
| On November 22, 1963, Lyndon Baines Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President aboard Air Force One (Photo by Cecil Stoughton) |
Most people who were alive that day can remember where they were when they heard the tragic news (I was taking my turn as a student switchboard operator at Midwood High School in Brooklyn). While many of us may have felt as if our innocence had been lost that day, few had the maturity to understand the weight that had just fallen on Johnson's shoulders. A career politician who was not particularly fond of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy (the deceased President's brother), Johnson grasped the urgency of calming the nation, honoring JFK, helping to console Jackie Kennedy and her children, and keeping the ship of state on a steady course.
With the country torn by civil unrest, he also recognized the importance of wielding his newfound political power to get Congress to pass vital legislation which could help move the nation forward. Among the crises Johnson confronted were (a) fears of Russian involvement in JFK's assassination, (b) growing unrest in the Civil Rights movement being led by the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., (c), a political challenge from the extremely conservative Republican candidate, Barry Goldwater, (d) internal friction within the Democratic party coming from politicians who felt that passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would mark the end of the "Democratic South," and (e) concerns about his own physical health.
First staged at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2012 (starring Jack Willis as LBJ), Robert Schenkkan's political drama, All The Way, chronicles Johnson's hectic first year in the Oval Office, from the moment of Kennedy's assassination to LBJ's victory in the 1964 Presidential election. Schenkkan's play received a second production (starring Bryan Cranston) from the American Repertory Theater in Boston before heading to Broadway for a limited run at the Neil Simon Theatre. A television adaptation directed by Jay Roach premiered on HBO on May 21, 2016.
The Contra Costa Civic Theatre is currently staging Schenkkan's play under the fast-paced direction of Marilyn Langbehn who, as the company's artistic director, confesses that:
“I’m a political junkie. Not an historian, nor an expert. Just someone who finds the process, the personalities, and the use and abuse of power fascinating. Even now, more than 50 years after he left office, Lyndon Johnson inspires rancor and outright hatred in certain quarters, and admiration and awe in others. The president who gave us the Great Society and our first African American Supreme Court justice also gave us the destructive, soul-killing legacy of Vietnam and our country’s distrust of government leaders (which has only grown exponentially in the years since).”
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| John Hale as President Lyndon Baines Johnson in a scene from All The Way (Photo by: Richard Tamayo) |
“Although it uses literal quotations and actual events as its framework, this play is not an all-encompassing documentary. Those who are looking for a condemnation of the U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia will not find it here. We limit ourselves tonight to an examination of the first year of the LBJ presidency from the assassination of JFK in November 1963 through the passage of the Civil Rights Act and Freedom Summer to Johnson’s landslide election in November 1964. A monumental year in the history of our country, and far from the end of the story.”
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| John Hale (President Lyndon Baines Johnson) and Khary L. Moye (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) in a scene from All The Way (Photo by: Richard Tamayo) |
CCCT's large ensemble includes David Bogdonoff as Senator Hubert Humphrey, Jeremy Cole as LBJ's closeted aide, Walter Jenkins, David Ghilardi as J. Edgar Hoover, Laszlo Horner as Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara, and Mick Renner who delivers a beautiful performance as Johnson's father figure, Senator Richard Russell. The women in the cast include Kim Donovan as Lady Bird Johnson, Kimberly Ridgeway (doubling as Coretta Scott King and Fannie Lou Hamer), and Susan Trishel Monsen (doubling as Muriel Humphrey and Lurleen Wallace).
Strong cameos come from Ben Knoll as Senator James Eastland, Edward Pieczenik as Senator Strom Thurmond, and Michael Sally as the easily agitated Governor George Wallace of Alabama. In addition to Richard Friedlander's droll portrayal of Senator Everett Dirksen, strong support comes from Willie Robinson as Roy Wilkins, Aaron Royce Jones as Bob Moses, Terrance Smith as Ralph Abernathy, and Umi Grant as Stokely Carmichael.
Because there is so much history to cover, many scenes are played out on Katie Whitcraft's set in a short, terse style while LBJ's more reflective moments are highlighted by Courtney Johnson's lighting. Though Khary L. Moye delivers a sobering portrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., All The Way offers a solid showcase for the actor portraying Lyndon Johnson. Aided by Michael Kelly's projections and sound design, John Hale gives a rock-solid performance which handsomely anchors CCCT's production.
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| John Hale as President Lyndon Baines Johnson in a scene from All The Way (Photo by: Richard Tamayo) |
Some may think that a play about Lyndon Johnson is solidly rooted in the past but, as I left the theatre, the thought that kept coming to mind was Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr's claim that "The more things change, the more they stay the same." Performances of All The Way continue through May 5 at the Contra Costa Civic Theatre (click here for tickets).
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