But to truly appreciate how foolish Jindal made himself look on
Sunday, you need to watch the subsequent interview with Florida
Governor Charlie Crist rejecting Jindal's petty partisanship: Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4IKFdOcpp8
Crist supported John McCain in the election, but says in "take 2"
of his interview, "When the campaign's over, it's over." He also
praised President Obama's first weeks in office, and said he hopes he succeeds. Jindal has another agenda. He is siding with the Rush Limbaugh wing (the extremist wing) of the Republican Party. If they howl and whine about Obama's efforts to rebuild the economy, they can say "I told you so" if their hopes come true and America falls deeperin into recession. This is Jindal's path to the White House in 2012, or so he thinks. But how much pain is he willing to inflict on the people of Lousiana in order to get his chance?
It’s clear that Barack
Obama has captured the spirit of civic engagement that awakened in
millions of Americans, aided by netroots techonology, and propted by
the Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina, two of many disasters that have
resulted from 8 years of partisan politics without effective
governance. But it may be that the most important changes are taking place within the Republican Party.
That is why I enjoy reading columns by conservative Republican
authors like David Broder, who are telling the story of the
transformation of the Republican party from the inside out.
But this article in the Washington Post
explains what a long journey it has been in Virginia to overcome
Republican dominance that has existed ever since Richard Nixon’s
“Southern Strategy” of playing to white resentment by blaming Democrats
for the Civil Rights movement. The article focuses on the more recent
past, of which Annabel and I have been a part.
After reading this article in today's Washington Post,
I've been thinking about how the collapse of the Republican Party
directly corresponds to its abandonment of any pretension of reaching
out to communities of color. But which came first?
The article in the Washington Post
focuses on Colorado, where one of the nation's most notorious
anti-immigrant politicians is a Congressman (former Republican
Presidential candidate Tom Tancredo). In my research on the immigration
battle in 2007 (on which my upcoming film is based), I found that it
was electoral dread and desperation that led Republicans all over the
nation to experiment with the politics of fear and resentment that fuel
the anti-immigrant movement issue. We also saw it on Republican news
programs and Republican talk radio. I think it's safe to say it
backfired.
CNN reported yesterday that 70 percent of people of color in Florida
are voting for Obama/Biden. Nationally, African American support is in
the 90 percent range, and among Hispanics it is 66 to 70 percent. Asian
American polls depend on the region, but I'm proud to say that in areas
of the country where Asian Americans are empowered and informed,
Obama/Biden is the preferred ticket by a 2 to 1 margin similar to
Latinos (only with more undecideds).
My analysis of this is that Sarah Palin's hateful speeches and the
hateful reactions from her followers have reminded people of color
across the nation how ugly and how dangerous racism can be. I think a
similar repulsion is reflected in the movement of moderates and
independents toward Obama/Biden in recent weeks.
In contrast, you have Barack Obama, who's mixed ancestry and
immigrant father say to all people of color that, if you look at
America as a whole (as opposed to the factions of the Republican party)
there is no longer a privilege or an advantage to being Caucasian, no,
not necessarily. Obama doesn't have to say that in his speeches. We
know this to be true because he is winning.
So that's my introduction to this video demonstrating a strong collaboration between Latino and Asian American artists, including myself. It's a brand new English Language version of "Si Se Puede Cambiar" (With Obama, We Can Change).
The videos and writing below are my best pitch to get Americans, especially Asian Pacific Americans, to volunteer forObama/Biden this weekend. Click here to volunteer through your local campaign office (or just look up the address and show up!). Click here to learn about a canvassing effort in Las Vegas with groups driving in from Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco.
Annabel and I
have been volunteering three or four days a week for the Obama/Biden
campaign in Northern Virginia, and will do the same down south in
Charlottesville (home of Thomas Jefferson and the University of
Virginia) this weekend. With only a few days left before election day,
duties as a volunteer are as rewarding as they are fun. Barack Obama's
vaunted get-out-the-vote effort has already narrowed the field down to
people who are probably supporting Barack Obama, so as you go door to
door, you'll be unlikely to be confronted with hateful idiots who still
think Obama is "an Arab" (not that there is anything wrong with being
an Arab of course). Your job as a volunteer is to make it more likely
that people who already support Obama/Biden will make time to go out
and vote.
Last weekend, Annabel and I visited the home of a 78-year-old woman
who had immigrated to the U.S. from Afghanistan. She said she very
much wanted to vote but was too old to leave the house. We helped her
fill out a vote-by-mail application and explained to her that she will
be able to vote after all. She was very happy about this, and it made
us happy to know we'd given her the opportunity to participate in a
historic election, and made a small contribution to the expansion of
the American electorate.
Yesterday,
I knocked doors in a forest neighborhood in Annandale, VA, where I met
8 very enthusiastic Obama supporters and only one guy who said "I'm the
complete opposite of what you're looking for." In particular I'm happy
about talking to a 22-year-old man named Jason who intended to take
advantage of early voting, but had planned to go on a day when early
voting is not available in Virginia (Monday, the day before the
election). Thanks to my visit, he'll be making plans to go today,
Saturday, or on election day.
Over the past two years, I have seen the American electorate expand
by leaps and bounds to include immigrants and minorities and many
others who had previously been left out of the process. Early on in
this journey, Barack Obama has come to symbolize this national
transformation, but it really is, as he will tell you, much bigger than
just one person, even the future President of the United States. This
entire movement was made possible by our great democracy and the idea
of government for the people, by the people. Various measures have
been taken to keep minorities from having a say in how this government
should function, and the result has been disastrous, an electorate
homogeneous enough to be blinded by fears and prejudices that cause
them to repeatedly vote against their own interest, and against the
interest of the nation. Asian Pacific Americans can and are playing a
pivotal role in a seed change, where the American electorate is
becoming too diverse to allow a fear or hate-based political strategy
to turn large blocks of voters against any particular minority (gays,
Latinos, Blacks, Muslims, Asians, the poor, etc.). With a diverse
electorate, the only movements that can unite the country are based on
values that we share across ethnic and religious barriers, across
sexual orientation and cultural barriers -- in short, we will build a
national consensus based on hope instead of fear. Different groups
fear different things, but we all hope for the same things: equality,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That is the direction we can
take America if all of us participate.
So go vote, of course, go vote. But voting is only one of
the many ways that you can participate in your democracy. By
volunteering, you can help others who are intimidated or discouraged
from voting, you can show fellow Americans how to become part of the
process, and help them gain a sense of ownership and responsiblity for
our government and how it is practiced. Each person we bring into the
process during this election will be an invaluable contributor to our
democracy in the future (I'll expand on this in my first post after the
election), all the more so because they forever remember that they
participated in the historic election of 2008 -- and you will have made
that possible. So go do it!
PS: I like the video above because it shows a great
diversity of Asian Pacific Americans volunteering for Obama/Biden (I
shot most of the footage but did not participate in editing). We are
about to release a new English language version of the video below,
which now has 363,686 views on our United For Obama channel alone. It still chokes me up, right when we see Ken Leung's cameo at the end: Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ky8Hvq-F0U
Eric, How are you? I remember in the Spring of 2007 you came to the Siskel Center here in Chicago and I was glad you were there to answer questions for the audience at Tre. Tre was very provocative. It really made me think. And I reacted to the unfolding subtle action in your film.
I am a songwriter. So what I thought it was interesting how you enlisted two writers to act in your film and that you let the camera roll while they improvised as writers and created double meanings and questions with the intentions in their actions.
A little about myself... some people say I'm unusual because I write, sing songs and perform in Spanish as well as English while I am Asian American, Filipino specifically. I'm really excited 'cos recently Univision called me and asked me to be a celebridad, or celebrity, on their mipagina site. Once I put up the video blog and complete, it becomes official!
I hope to learn more about you, and that I may stand out to you as someone who wants to create art together. I hope there is a chance I may work with you in the future. I live in Chicago and hope we can do lunch sometime somewhere in the US. I'm interested in collaborating with you because your projects have real depth and meaning.
Omg, I'm so excited I didn't realize you're hapa :) I can't wait until I have my own....a family came into my work the other day, and the child was just adorable....btw, this topic another artist on here just created a site called, hapasmama.com :)
Hey Eric! It's been a while...don't know if you still remember me (and I don't know how to use this thing to send you a private message rather than sign your guestbook for everyone to see). I went to the screening of Tre in Pasadena and you said I could be your friend, so here I am. I'm actually not sure how I can add you as my friend, maybe because you're a super cool artist and I'm just a regular member. =( I have become your fan though. If you get a chance, add me as your friend!
It was great meeting you two weekends ago, by the way. I am really inspired by your work. Good luck with everything!
Eric Byler (born January 15, 1972) is an American film director, screenwriter and political activist. He identifies as hapa biracial, born to a Chinese American mother and a white American father...
Eric Byler (born January 15, 1972) is an American film director, screenwriter and political activist. He identifies as hapa biracial, born to a Chinese American mother and a white American father. He grew up in Virginia, Hawaii (where he attended Moanalua High School), and California. He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1994, majoring in film. He currently resides in Gainesville, Virginia.
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Roger Ebert's review of Americanese (IFC Films release 2008)
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060330/REVIEWS/6
03300302
Roger's review of Charlotte Sometimes (Visionbox Pictures 2003 Release)
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030502/REVIEWS/3
05020301/1023
Variety Review of my latest film TRE (Cinema Libre Studio release Nov. 2007)
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117933164.html?categoryid=31&cs=1
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