[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 21 (Tuesday, March 1, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E311]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      A VERMONT FILMMAKER OF NOTE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 1, 2005

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to inform this 
body that Eugene Jarecki, a filmmaker in Waitsfield, Vermont, has been 
awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. Mr. 
Jarecki won this prestigious award for his documentary, Why We Fight.
  Mr. Jarecki provides a balanced view of what President Eisenhower 
warned was a danger to democracy: the ``military-industrial complex.'' 
He interviews, for instance, supporters of the current war in Iraq such 
as Weekly Standard editor William Kristol and Richard Perle, Chairman 
of the Defense Policy Board; he also interviews those who warn of 
dangers which may emerge from the prosecution of that war, talking with 
Senator John McCain, news anchor Dan Rather, and USAF Lt. Col. (Ret.) 
Karen Kwiatkowski.
  Sundance describes his film succinctly and accurately: ``Why We Fight 
is an inside look at the anatomy of the American war machine, examining 
how a force so potentially counter to the balance of a democratic 
society influences American life. Amid the upheaval of the Iraq War, 
the film follows the personal stories of a group of characters in 
America's military family.
  ``Why does America fight? Time and again, why does she seem inclined 
toward war against an ever changing array of enemies? What are the 
forces--economic, political, ideological--that shape and propel 
American militarism? Where do they meet? And what role does the 
individual play?''
  Writing in the New York Times this week in honor of the recently 
deceased Arthur Miller, fellow playright (and Vermont resident) David 
Mamet wrote, ``Bad drama reinforces our prejudices. It informs us of 
what we knew when we came into the theater. Good drama survives because 
it appeals not to the fashion of the moment, but to the problems both 
universal and eternal, as they are insoluble.'' Eugene Jarecki makes 
good films.
  The balance in his film, along with the craft and care with which it 
was made, propelled Jarecki's work to its Sundance Award. As Vermont 
filmmaker Jay Craven noted, Jarecki's ``film emerged as a top Sundance 
hit precisely because it articulates a view that goes far beyond the 
seasonal politics of elections to pose larger and enduring questions.''
  In this era when too often political ``spin'' substitutes for 
reasoned analysis and the study of history, Eugene Jarecki has shown us 
that the media have a vital role to play in educating us about our 
political and economic past, and about our future. Vermont is as proud 
of him as the judges at Sundance were; and we are happy that he is once 
again en route to sharing his cinematic work with the entire nation.

                          ____________________