I had this post ready to go today and realized I could link up with Mattie and Lexi. This is a little more serious than I usually am, but I wanted to share something I watched recently and would recommend. 

When we were kids, teachers would turn on “historical” movies and we would all roll our eyes and try really hard not to fall asleep. We watched fictional movies like Forrest Gump and Titanic and feel like we learned something about the time period, but the characters were never real people.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more set in my preferences. When choosing a movie, I like funny, cheesy and happy movies. I will watch some of the Oscar nominations and a few of the fantasy movies (duh, Harry Potter is one of my favorites.) But at least once or twice a year, I get off course from the usual and watch something that makes me feel a little more.

Tonight, we watched Selma. It told the story behind the march from Selma to Montgomery during the Civil Rights movement. It shows more personal interactions between Dr. Martin Luther King and his wife, the president and the men he worked with during his work for the Civil Rights movement.

I know these movies are researched and as accurate as they can be, but they can’t possibly know every detail. That said, I think it’s such a good way to see moments in history from a closer perspective.

It’s important to continue to learn about the moments in history that brought us to the point we are in now. History has a way of repeating itself, but also helping us grow. We have to learn. We have to fight again ignorance. We have to talk and share and discuss. We have to listen.

I’ve been struggling a lot this last week with mean people. I got yelled at by my cab driver in Las Vegas because of the city I was coming from. He told me that New Yorkers know nothing and we don’t understand real problems that are happening in the rest of the country. I had just landed from a late night flight and couldn’t do anything other than sit there horrified (and not tip him.) Then we’ve been hearing nothing on the news except for news on the bombings in NYC and NJ this weekend. It’s exhausting and terrifying.

These protests are still happening more than half a century later. People are still battling for their rights in this country. We have to be aware.

I just have to keep listening, learning and loving. I’ll be voting and debating (peacefully and respectfully) with others. And I will keep encouraging others to ask questions and learn about other people. We all have to stick together and be kind with one another. There isn’t another way.

Let me know if you have any movies like this that are favorites of yours.