Boston Legal, a show on the American NBC network, is quite possibly the only thing worth watching on American TV now that West Wing has been cancelled.
It's basically a humourous Lawyer drama, but with a slight twist - they actually dare to tackle the "Big issues" which are confronting the world today. Below are a few speeches given in the fictional courtroom:
A client hadn't paid her taxes, instead writing "stick it!" on the forms and returning them to the IRS:
When the weapons of mass destruction thing turned out not to be true, I expected the American people to rise up. Ha!
They didn't.
Then, when the Abu Ghraib torture thing surfaced and it was revealed that our government participated in rendition, a practice where we kidnap people and turn them over to regimes who specialize in torture, I was sure then the American people would be heard from.
We stood mute.
Then came the news that we jailed thousands of so-called terrorists suspects, locked them up without the right to a trial or even the right to confront their accusers. Certainly, we would never stand for that.
We did.
And now, it's been discovered the executive branch has been conducting massive, illegal, domestic surveillance on its own citizens -- you and me. And I at least consoled myself that finally, finally the American people will have had enough.
Evidentially, we haven't.
In fact, if the people of this country have spoken, the message is, we're okay with it all. Torture, warrantless search and seizures, illegal wiretappings, prison without a fair trial -- or any trial, war on false pretenses. We, as a citizenry, are apparently not offended.
There are no demonstrations on college campuses. In fact, there's no clear indication that young people even seem to notice.
Well, Melissa Hughes noticed. Now, you might think, instead of withholding her taxes, she could have protested the old-fashioned way, made a placard and demonstrated at a Presidential or Vice-Presidential appearance. But we've lost the right to that as well. The Secret Service can now declare free speech zones to contain, control and, in effect, criminalize protest.
Stop for a second and try to fathom that. At a presidential rally, parade or appearance, if you have on a supportive t-shirt, you can be there. If you are wearing or carrying something in protest, you can be removed. This, in the United States of America. This in the United States of America. Is Melissa Hughes the only one embarrassed?
Actually, I'm sick and tired. And what I'm most sick and tired of is how every time somebody disagrees with how the government is running things, he or she is labeled unAmerican.
Opposing lawyer: Evidentally, it's speech time.
And speech in this country is free, you hack! Free for me, free for you. Free for Melissa Hughes to stand up to her government and say "Stick it"!
Opposing lawyer: Objection!
I object to government abusing its power to squash the constitutional freedoms of its citizenry. And, God forbid anybody challenge it, they're smeared as being a heretic. Melissa Hughes is an American. Melissa Hughes is an American. Melissa Hughes is an American!
Last night, I went to bed with a book. Not as much fun as a 29-year-old, but the book contained a speech by Adlai Stevenson. The year was 1952. He said, "The tragedy of our day is the climate of fear in which we live, and fear breeds repression. Too often, sinister threats to the Bill of Rights, to freedom of the mind are concealed under the patriotic cloak of anti-Communism."
Today, it's the cloak of anti-terrorism. Stevenson also remarked, "It's far easier to fight for principles than to live up to them."
I know we are all afraid, but the Bill of Rights -- we have to live up to that. We simply must. That's all Melissa Hughes was trying to say. She was speaking for you. I would ask you now to go back to that room and speak for her.
************************************************
This one was given by Michael J. Fox during a guest appearance. For those of you who don't know, Fox is suffering from Parkinson's disease. His character was defending a teacher who was being sued by over-protective parents:
Opposing Counsel: I can’t believe we’re here today because these parents care too much about their child. The truth is our children are growing up in a frighteningly competitive world. They’ll face global competition the likes ofwhich we’ve never seen before and we are unprepared. A most recent study ranked American students sixteenth inthe world in Science, nineteenth in the world in Mathematics. Of American twelfth graders thirty percent of the boys,seventeen percent of the girls cannot read at the basic level. This type of failure will kill our kids. And that’s whatGeorge and Gigi Gering are trying to prevent. These parents are simply trying to secure their daughters future as bestthey can. A future that they know will be challenged with ever increasing competition. What I would have given to haveparents as involved as the Gerings. You ask me? Their daughter’s lucky her parents care so much.
Fox: Before I start. Uhm, I know you think you’re parents weren’t involved? But look at you! Ithink you turned out super. By the way, Your Honor, I’m ah, I’m dying.
Oppositon: I object! He’s trying to garnish sympathy, Your Honor.
Fox: Not at all, Your Honor. I only mean to say that my current situation gives me a unique view on life. The Gering’s wanna be involved in their child’s education, and they should be. But in their zealotry they left one thing out of the equation. The teacher. You know, let’s face it, Your Honor we treat our teachers like crap. Instead of training our educators properly and believing in them and incenting them with decent wages, we disrespect them; we challenge them at every turn. And the government in the ‘No child left behind’ act has created a monster. Instead of teaching children to be innovative our educators are forced to teach to the test. And it’s been documented that nation wide that some teachers have themselves cheated on the tests because their salaries, their bonuses, their job security are linked to the test scores. And on the other side we have parents like the Gerings coming at them from all angles. Questioning their every move, instead of putting their faith in them…And believe I know all about wanting control of your life and having very little of it. But you can’t control life, you can’t control your daughter, you can’t control their teachers. All you can do is inspire them to be innovative thinkers, people who tap into their own creativity and confidence to try new things, to challenge the status quo, or to make new discoveries. And our kids will do that and more if we just back off and let ‘em grow.
It's basically a humourous Lawyer drama, but with a slight twist - they actually dare to tackle the "Big issues" which are confronting the world today. Below are a few speeches given in the fictional courtroom:
A client hadn't paid her taxes, instead writing "stick it!" on the forms and returning them to the IRS:
When the weapons of mass destruction thing turned out not to be true, I expected the American people to rise up. Ha!
They didn't.
Then, when the Abu Ghraib torture thing surfaced and it was revealed that our government participated in rendition, a practice where we kidnap people and turn them over to regimes who specialize in torture, I was sure then the American people would be heard from.
We stood mute.
Then came the news that we jailed thousands of so-called terrorists suspects, locked them up without the right to a trial or even the right to confront their accusers. Certainly, we would never stand for that.
We did.
And now, it's been discovered the executive branch has been conducting massive, illegal, domestic surveillance on its own citizens -- you and me. And I at least consoled myself that finally, finally the American people will have had enough.
Evidentially, we haven't.
In fact, if the people of this country have spoken, the message is, we're okay with it all. Torture, warrantless search and seizures, illegal wiretappings, prison without a fair trial -- or any trial, war on false pretenses. We, as a citizenry, are apparently not offended.
There are no demonstrations on college campuses. In fact, there's no clear indication that young people even seem to notice.
Well, Melissa Hughes noticed. Now, you might think, instead of withholding her taxes, she could have protested the old-fashioned way, made a placard and demonstrated at a Presidential or Vice-Presidential appearance. But we've lost the right to that as well. The Secret Service can now declare free speech zones to contain, control and, in effect, criminalize protest.
Stop for a second and try to fathom that. At a presidential rally, parade or appearance, if you have on a supportive t-shirt, you can be there. If you are wearing or carrying something in protest, you can be removed. This, in the United States of America. This in the United States of America. Is Melissa Hughes the only one embarrassed?
Actually, I'm sick and tired. And what I'm most sick and tired of is how every time somebody disagrees with how the government is running things, he or she is labeled unAmerican.
Opposing lawyer: Evidentally, it's speech time.
And speech in this country is free, you hack! Free for me, free for you. Free for Melissa Hughes to stand up to her government and say "Stick it"!
Opposing lawyer: Objection!
I object to government abusing its power to squash the constitutional freedoms of its citizenry. And, God forbid anybody challenge it, they're smeared as being a heretic. Melissa Hughes is an American. Melissa Hughes is an American. Melissa Hughes is an American!
Last night, I went to bed with a book. Not as much fun as a 29-year-old, but the book contained a speech by Adlai Stevenson. The year was 1952. He said, "The tragedy of our day is the climate of fear in which we live, and fear breeds repression. Too often, sinister threats to the Bill of Rights, to freedom of the mind are concealed under the patriotic cloak of anti-Communism."
Today, it's the cloak of anti-terrorism. Stevenson also remarked, "It's far easier to fight for principles than to live up to them."
I know we are all afraid, but the Bill of Rights -- we have to live up to that. We simply must. That's all Melissa Hughes was trying to say. She was speaking for you. I would ask you now to go back to that room and speak for her.
************************************************
This one was given by Michael J. Fox during a guest appearance. For those of you who don't know, Fox is suffering from Parkinson's disease. His character was defending a teacher who was being sued by over-protective parents:
Opposing Counsel: I can’t believe we’re here today because these parents care too much about their child. The truth is our children are growing up in a frighteningly competitive world. They’ll face global competition the likes ofwhich we’ve never seen before and we are unprepared. A most recent study ranked American students sixteenth inthe world in Science, nineteenth in the world in Mathematics. Of American twelfth graders thirty percent of the boys,seventeen percent of the girls cannot read at the basic level. This type of failure will kill our kids. And that’s whatGeorge and Gigi Gering are trying to prevent. These parents are simply trying to secure their daughters future as bestthey can. A future that they know will be challenged with ever increasing competition. What I would have given to haveparents as involved as the Gerings. You ask me? Their daughter’s lucky her parents care so much.
Fox: Before I start. Uhm, I know you think you’re parents weren’t involved? But look at you! Ithink you turned out super. By the way, Your Honor, I’m ah, I’m dying.
Oppositon: I object! He’s trying to garnish sympathy, Your Honor.
Fox: Not at all, Your Honor. I only mean to say that my current situation gives me a unique view on life. The Gering’s wanna be involved in their child’s education, and they should be. But in their zealotry they left one thing out of the equation. The teacher. You know, let’s face it, Your Honor we treat our teachers like crap. Instead of training our educators properly and believing in them and incenting them with decent wages, we disrespect them; we challenge them at every turn. And the government in the ‘No child left behind’ act has created a monster. Instead of teaching children to be innovative our educators are forced to teach to the test. And it’s been documented that nation wide that some teachers have themselves cheated on the tests because their salaries, their bonuses, their job security are linked to the test scores. And on the other side we have parents like the Gerings coming at them from all angles. Questioning their every move, instead of putting their faith in them…And believe I know all about wanting control of your life and having very little of it. But you can’t control life, you can’t control your daughter, you can’t control their teachers. All you can do is inspire them to be innovative thinkers, people who tap into their own creativity and confidence to try new things, to challenge the status quo, or to make new discoveries. And our kids will do that and more if we just back off and let ‘em grow.
