勇者无惧1997

这部电影和这个人自然是没有多大关系。 但是看得出来——知道这部片子的人几乎都知道这个名字。 向斯皮尔伯格致意，向Amistad致意，向林达致意——虽然这部电影并没有这段历史本身富有曲折性和传奇性。

下了这个电影后，知道了大概情节，于是疯狂地在我所购买的有关美国司法案件的书里找，因为我记得我曾在哪里看过。居然没有记载！

于是想到了林达的书，打开电子书 bingo!

找到了。

看完书，看完电影，已经没有什么可以说的了。

这些天的阅读和思考，讲我对社会发展越来越深地引向了法律。

可以说，美国的社会建设，国家发展，完全是依靠法律的基础建设起来的。

从《勇者无惧》到《换子疑云》，从水门事件到拉链门，都是法律推动着美国的社会进步。

我们可以看到，没有法律，所谓的希望，正义，权利，反腐等等问题是无从谈起的。

当我们有了法律可以依靠，我们前进的脚步将更加坚定，稳固而且有保证。

导演斯斯蒂文.斯皮尔伯格习惯于将注意力放在那些历史中最悲戚、最沉重的任务与事件中去，电影<AMISTAD>也正是如此，很早以前就从林达的《我也有一个梦想》中读到过这段历史，并且知道了这么一部电影的存在，然后数年来遍寻不到，终于某一天在5Q上看到了它的身影...

蓄奴与黑奴贸易是西方世界几百年中最为残酷与血腥的一页，无数的男人、女人儿童，像牲口一样，被绑架，被掠杀，被拖上奴隶船，被扔下海中，只为了节约一点粮食或者身体有病。 电影中的镜头虽然有马赛克，但是还是让人觉得不堪回想，那一幕幕恐怖的画面在如泣的音乐中更是刺痛了心里的最深处。

1839年，正是美国废奴运动掀起的前夜，人们已经开始审视多年来的蓄奴，这种行为与美国精神的赤裸裸相悖而行，《独立宣言》中说道：我们认为下面这些真理是不言而喻的：人人生而平等，造物者赋予他们若干不可剥夺的权利，其中包括生命权、自由权和追求幸福的权利。既然如此，美国的精神，为追求人人平等与自由而建立这个国家的初衷就被残酷的践踏了，幸而，并不是所有人都是麻木的。

当山克在法庭上用生涩的英语喊出GIVE US FREE的时候，阳光照射在饱受摧残的黑人们身上，他们曾经是如此自由而幸福地生活在非洲大陆上。当年轻的法官最终选择自己的良心，而甘愿放弃光明的仕途时，灰暗的法庭变得如此光亮。

这是一部史诗般的电影，揭出了黑暗，也彰显了光明，很奇怪的是，这样一部出色的电影，在国内却知之甚少，连资料与图片都寥寥无几。但是在这里，我郑重地推荐给各位朋友，双手奉上。。。
 

我不是一个泪点高的人。
看这部片子，我哭了两次。

第一次，是在法庭上，一个黑人站了起来，断断续续地说，被阻止了以后继续说，
"Give us free...Give us free!"

第二次，是在Supreme Court上，John Quincy Adams为Cinque辩护。
我重看了那一段，现在摘录下来：
Your Honors, I derive much consolation from the fact that my colleague, Mr. Baldwin, here, has argued the case in so able and so complete a manner as to leave me scarcely anything to say.

However, why are we here? How is it that a simple, plain property issue should now find itself so ennobled as to be argued before the Supreme Court of the United States of America? I mean, do we fear the lower courts, which found for us easily, somehow missed the truth? Is that it? Or is it, rather, our great and consuming fear of civil war that has allowed us to heap symbolism upon a simple case that never asked for it and now would have us disregard truth, even as it stands before us, tall and proud as a mountain? The truth, in truth, has been driven from this case like a slave, flogged from court to court, wretched and destitute. And not by any great legal acumen on the part of the opposition, I might add, but through the long, powerful arm of the Executive Office.

Yea, this is no mere property case, gentlemen. I put it to you thus: This is the most important case ever to come before this court. Because what it, in fact, concerns is the very nature of man.

These are transcriptions of letters written between our Secretary of State, John Forsyth, and the Queen of Spain, Isabella the Second. Now, I ask that you accept their perusal as part of your deliberations.

Thank you, sir. [to court officer]

I would not touch on them now except to notice a curious phrase which is much repeated. The queen again and again refers to our incompetent courts. Now what, I wonder, would be more to her liking? Huh? A court that finds against the Africans? Well, I think not. And here is the fine point of it: What her majesty wants is a court that behaves just like her courts, the courts this eleven year-old child plays with in her magical kingdom called Spain, a court that will do what it is told, a court that can be toyed with like a doll, a court -- as it happens -- of which our own President, Martin Van Buren, would be most proud.

Thank you. [takes document from Baldwin]

This is a publication of the Office of the President. It's called the Executive Review, and I'm sure you all read it. At least I'm sure the President hopes you all read it. This is a recent issue, and there's an article in here written by a "keen mind of the South," who is my former Vice President, John Calhoun, perhaps -- Could it be? -- who asserts that:

"There has never existed a civilized society in which one segment did not thrive upon the labor of another. As far back as one chooses to look -- to ancient times, to biblical times -- history bears this out. In Eden, where only two were created, even there one was pronounced subordinate to the other. Slavery has always been with us and is neither sinful nor immoral. Rather, as war and antagonism are the natural states of man, so, too, slavery, as natural as it is inevitable."

Now, gentlemen, I must say I differ with the keen minds of the South, and with our president, who apparently shares their views, offering that the natural state of mankind is instead -- and I know this is a controversial idea -- is freedom. Is freedom. And the proof is the length to which a man, woman, or child will go to regain it, once taken. He will break loose his chains, He will decimate his enemies. He will try and try and try against all odds, against all prejudices, to get home.

Cinque, would you stand up, if you would, so everyone can see you. This man is black. We can all see that. But can we also see as easily that which is equally true -- that he is the only true hero in this room.

Now, if he were white, he wouldn't be standing before this court fighting for his life. If he were white and his enslavers were British, he wouldn't be able to stand, so heavy the weight of the medals and honors we would bestow upon him. Songs would be written about him. The great authors of our times would fill books about him. His story would be told and retold in our classrooms. Our children, because we would make sure of it, would know his name as well as they know Patrick Henry's.

Yet, if the South is right, what are we to do with that embarrassing, annoying document, "The Declaration of Independence?" What of its conceits? "All men...created equal," "inalienable rights," "life," "liberty," and so on and so forth? What on earth are we to do with this?

I have a modest suggestion. [tears up a facsimile of the Declaration]

The other night I was talking with my friend, Cinque. He was over at my place, and we were out in the greenhouse together. And he was explaining to me how when a member of the Mende -- that's his people -- how when a member of the Mende encounters a situation where there appears no hope at all, he invokes his ancestors. It's a tradition. See, the Mende believe that if one can summon the spirits of one's ancestors, then they have never left, and the wisdom and strength they fathered and inspired will come to his aid.

James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, John Adams: We've long resisted asking you for guidance. Perhaps we have feared in doing so we might acknowledge that our individuality which we so, so revere is not entirely our own. Perhaps we've feared an appeal to you might be taken for weakness. But, we've come to understand, finally, that this is not so. We understand now, we've been made to understand, and to embrace the understanding that who we are is who we were.

We desperately need your strength and wisdom to triumph over our fears, our prejudices, our-selves. Give us the courage to do what is right. And if it means civil war, then let it come. And when it does, may it be, finally, the last battle of the American Revolution.

That's all I have to say.

JQA走过那一排石膏像，停在John Adams的旁边，伸出手摸了一下。然后说出了那段让我眼泪一下子出来的话。
长久以来，我们不愿寻求你们的帮助。也许我们是害怕，这么做就是在承认，我们所尊崇所保持的个性并不完全是我们自己的。也许我们是害怕，求助会被当作软弱。但我们终于觉悟，事实并非如此。现在我们明白了，我们一直被指引着去觉悟，去明白，我们的祖先是谁，我们就是谁。

突然想到在乌布的时候，Ellen对我说，有一天晚上照镜子，她看到了她祖母的脸。原来她就是她的祖母。"They are in us. We are a part of them. "

我相信，God dwells in us.
现在我相信，Ancestors dwell in us.
这是好事，也不是好事。但我必须承认，who we are is who we were.