I also saw another fantastic movie this week:  “Good Night and Good Luck”.  It is the story of Edward R. Murrow and his news team and their decision to face down Senator McCarthy in the middle of the Red Scare.

It was very good, and very timely.

It really brings out in sharp relief what we have lost in the news media.  It illustrated that men of good will can marry profit and journalistic integrity successfully, but that they must constantly struggle with themselves and each other to do so.

That balance has clearly been upset in our time, and doesn’t look like it will improve any time soon.

It also illustrated very well the soul-searching required when you decide to bend the rules of your profession and do things that are normally against the guidelines of what is considered ethical behavior.  The discomfort in the room when Murrow’s decisions were challenged by his boss was palpable.  It was clear that here was a situation where ethical behavior was in conflict with itself, and it was up to Murrow to decide which principle out-weighted the other.  That’s never a comfortable decision to make.

The movie was exceptionally timely in light of Ann Coulter’s assertion that what this country needs is a good dose of McCarthyism.  Wildly popular with the wing-nuts, it was important that this movie be made to let people know just exactly what we’re talking about here, where “terrorism” is the new “communism”.

Yeah.

We need a dose of fear-and-hate-fueled lying, defaming, persecuting, psychotic, paranoid faux-patriotism like we need a coke-headed draft-dodger for President.

Oh wait.