Friday Night at the Movies–The Ghost Writer

The 2010 film, The Ghost Writer starring Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan plunges the audience into the bleak alleyways of politics and oppression. McGregor plays the naive writer who finds himself entrapped by intrigues he little understands. Brosnan acts out the role of the self-possessed and egotistical politician who cares about his image while remaining aloof from principle. Roman Polanski’s direction portrays the problems of politics and oppression through the actors and by way of the metaphors available on the remote island where the story is set.

The humorous visual metaphor of the gardener/maintenance worker, who vainly tries to sweep up debris in the constant wind, reminds us of the futility of covering up mistakes rather than dealing directly with them. This is a personal lesson from Polanski’s life and recurs in other films by the director, namely Chinatown and The Pianist. The unraveling of the cover-up forces the oppressors to take drastic measures to meet the onslaught of public outrage.  As in Chinatown, the powerful defeat the helpless and the needy, reminding us of this same dilemma posed in Ecclesiastes.

Just after Christmas, Norman Horn of The Washington Post asked the question, “Can a Christian be a libertarian?” http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/guest-voices/post/can-a-christian-be-a-libertarian/2011/12/27/gIQA4gruKP_blog.html Mr. Horn’s thesis states “The core of libertarianism is the non-aggression principle: that the initiation of force against person and property is immoral, and it is in many respects a kind of political corollary to the Golden Rule.”

While not wanting to argue whether or not the “non-aggression principle” is the core of libertarianism, I was reminded of the question Mr. Horn poses while watching “The Ghost Writer.” I wonder how a follower of Jesus can embrace any of the political labels currently available in the United States. I cannot endorse anyone on the national stage this year nor have I been able to wholeheartedly do so since beginning to vote in 1976.

I look for a fruitful discussion of citizenship in 2012. Our home Bible study group offers terrific interaction, so I will look there and hope for enlightenment through this blog. I object to jingoism and flag-waving demagoguery. I long for honest dialogue without a preset or assumed political orthodoxy. I may be a libertarian but don’t yet know it.