That time I got censored by the government, 250 lbs of vigilante justice and how to become a famous speech writer.
Three Things link round up with a poem about vying for power.
Have you had a Christmas party yet?
We attended two events as a family this week, which is a lot after years of parties on hold, and there's more in the weeks ahead. I love the lead into the Christmas season and hope you have time to eat too much, listen to inspiring music and quiet your heart as you reflect on its meaning.
Thanks for spending some of your weekend with Things I Wrote Down. Here’s a few links I think you’ll find interesting and a Christmas poem about power that pairs well with the links I've shared.
Playwrights make good speech fellows
It turns out playwrights make great speech writers. I found a fallback plan!
I started watching Daniel Pink’s Master Class and in his introduction he shares that he was Al Gore’s speechwriter. (If you’ve watched any Aaron Sorkin film, it intuitively makes sense: “You can't handle the truth!”).
After discovering this fun fact, I went on a little rabbit trail to find other playwrights-turned-speechwriters. It’s definitely a thing.
Here’s a line from a Thatcher speech, quipped by playwright Ronald Miller who riffed on a famous moment in a Christopher Fry play.
Censored by the government
Speech is great, if you can freely share it!
The good news this week is that we made news. The bad news is that in Canada the government makes news hard to access.
This week Matt, Dan and we're featured in an article on The Post Millennial. Reporter
asked for our thoughts on the way Statistics Canada reports MAiD deaths, which caused concern across Canada recently (they code the deaths as the underlying condition, not as euthanasia).We shared our two cents from our POV as the filmmakers of MAiD in Canada.
Krayden included our quote in his reporting and the story went out. But when we tried to share a link to our audience on Instagram, we were notified that you can’t share news links in Canada.
Here’s the link to the full quote, which hopefully isn’t blocked when you read. And here’s the full quote we shared, for posterity:
We're not surprised that a government which modified the criminal code to reframe murder as medicine would play around with numbers. But we think Stats Canada should be honest and call a MAiD a MAiD. Their lack of transparency around doctor-assisted suicide should concern Canadians. It definitely concerns us. But no matter how they represent the numbers, they cannot bury the fact that more Canadians than ever before are dying at the hand of their doctors. Nor can they hide the tragedy that MAiD is becoming a leading cause of death in our nation.
If you have news to share, you can be censored too! Oh Canada.
Reacher Season Two
I have to wait another week to see Jack Reacher enact justice on the criminal underworld. Anyone else out there excited about Season Two on Prime?
A few years ago I started reading Lee Child's popular books about the former military police officer who travels the mainland US after his military career and cracks unsolved cases (and deserving skulls). It's cathartic reading, and the series is well made, with an actor who—with all due respect to Tom Cruise who introduced many of us to the character on film—actually embodies the 250 pound brute.
My poem for the week
With all the above links that rub up against men and women vying for power, justice and influence, I was reminded of this poem I wrote recently.
I hope you enjoy it and have a great week ahead!
Vie and clamour
They who are insecure
shout the
loudest
even among the
gods.
Yet, as the mob
howled
demanded more than
their pound of flesh
more than the worst
earthly pain:
humiliation
complete and total
rejection, abject suffering
blood
You were silent.
Oh but how you could have howled.
Let rage and scorn froth from
your mouth, name the shameless
hypocrisy, justify your
begotten self.
Yet, when you did speak
from bleeding gums
tongue swollen as the whip
marks on your back, you
whispered
words of absolution
welcomed us to
paradise.
This part of your nature, your
silence
quiets the human soul
speaks a better word than
all the kingdoms with too small
queens and kings who yet vie and
clamour.
Thanks for The Post Millennial shout out!