Viva Che!!!

I watched "The Motorcycle Diaries" again tonight. I say again because I saw it in a local independent theater a few months ago. Now, I read the book before I saw the movie. In fact, I bought it at Barnes and Noble, which may turn out to be a mistake because I bought it with a credit card, so my information is sitting in some "Patriot Act" database. God protect me from the plague that is Bill O'Reilly and Anne Coulter.

What I found interesting about the movie is that I liked it more the 2nd time around. Having read the book beforehand, the movie made lent itself to situations where Che didn't go into much detail. He was somewhat descriptive, but the movie actually let you see the places he went, the peoples he met, and the land. It was much better this time around and I will buy the DVD.

I read somewhere that the movie has inspired a whole new generation of Latin Americans to explore their continent. I really hope so. I think that the more people who get out from the cities and get to see the conditions that the indigineous people live in, the more likely it is that these people will begin to seek social justice for all in South America. They'll start the process to reclaim land being used by multinational corporations in the name of "progress" and return it to the people that can make the best use of it. I know some people will claim that returning these lands to the people will almost automatically ensure that the countries will plunge into poverty. However, except for the few institutions in these nations that capitalize from the disenfranchisement of entire segments of a population, most of the indigineous people in these nations live in substandard conditions. At least having some land will ensure they can grow their own food, or better yet, form cooperatives to assist one another.
It's funny, but as I get older, I get much more politicized and more radical in my beliefs. I thought I would mellow out as I got older, but I seem to do just the opposite. Maybe there's a bit of Che in me yet .............

Che