"I am so ashamed."

I went and saw Hotel Rwanda on Friday night. The movie was, as the critics said, excellent. It was powerful, and depressing, well filmed, and beautifully acted. The two women behind me (whom I felt like hitting about twenty minutes into the movie) obviously had no idea that this movie was based on real events and were looking for places to laugh through the whole movie. (They made me very angry-- but thats just me.)

I have never once claimed to be a politico. But, ignorant, I hope I am not. However, when this movie ended I leaned over to my friendly escort and said, "Even more depressing then that is the fact that I don't remember any of that happening." I remember vividly the height of (or news coverage) the famine and relief efforts in Somalia circa 1992. However, this genocide in 1994 completely skipped my news radar. As explained in the movie, some of the travesty of this event was the fact that it wasn't covered by the news, the lack of efforts from the UN to help, and general disinterest by the rest of the world.

Hopefully in my wiser, albeit older age I will not let anything of this magnitude slip by me again. As the lead actor and manager of the "Hotel Rwanda" says, "I am so ashamed."